Russia, Ukraine and US to meet as Zelenskyy claims battlefield successes

Negotiators from Russia and Ukraine are set to meet for peace talks brokered by the United States in Abu Dhabi, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying that recent gains on the battlefield had strengthened his country’s hand. The meeting in the capital of the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday will be the third round of talks there this year, following security consultations in January and February.

The US side is led by US President Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who have spearheaded Washington’s mediation. “Ukrainian forces are currently genuinely strengthening Ukraine’s negotiating position,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Monday.

He said Russia was “suffering record losses”, a claim Moscow disputes, and urged Washington to persuade the Kremlin to end the war. Zelenskyy said General Mykhailo Drapatyi had presented a report on Ukraine’s military positions that pointed to heavy recent Russian losses, and that Ukraine’s long-range strikes on targets inside Russia, including oil facilities, were having an effect.