U.S. envoys meet with Putin in the Kremlin after Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi
MOSCOW —
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envoys → meet → Dhabi
U.S. President Donald Trump's envoys met Thursday with President Vladimir Putin as Washington sought new momentum in peace efforts after two days of U.S.-mediated negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations.
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Washington → meet → delegations
Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who is also Trump's son-in-law, brokered the talks in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
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who → broker → Emirates
Those were the first direct discussions between representatives of Moscow and Kyiv in nine months as the push for peace stalled.
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push → stall → peace
The two days of talks that ended Wednesday produced no major breakthrough, aside from an agreement to swap a large number of prisoners, with the exact figure still to be announced.
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figure → end → prisoners
Kushner and Witkoff went straight to the Kremlin to brief Putin in a meeting that lasted about two hours and are scheduled to fly to Dublin, Ireland, for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the conflict stretches toward the five-year mark.
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conflict → go → mark
U.S. envoys want Europe at the negotiating table, too
Kushner said that one of the goals of the meeting with Putin was to get the Russian leader's blessing for European representatives to be part of the talks, which are looking at the continent's broader security arrangements.
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which → want → arrangements
The U.S. and Zelenskyy want Europe to appoint a single person to negotiate with Moscow.
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Europe → want → Moscow
But Moscow doesn't want European countries involved in the direct negotiations, complaining they are financing and supplying Ukraine's military effort.
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they → want → effort
The Europeans are concerned about Russia's conduct and broader intentions on the continent.
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Europeans → concern → continent
Many in Europe see the inclusion of Moscow in discussions about postwar European security as an unwelcome concession to Putin, who has described NATO's eastward expansion as a main security threat to Russia.
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who → see → Russia
Putin has demanded the trans-Atlantic alliance's troops be pulled back from Russia's borders.
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troops → demand → borders
Some analysts say negotiators may be looking to grant Russia concessions on NATO's strategy in return for peace in Ukraine — a possibility that alarms European leaders.
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that → say → leaders
The Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi "agreed on many of the principles, but are still apart on some of the way to accomplish" peace, Kushner said in Moscow.
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Kushner → agree → Moscow
Putin reaffirmed to the U.S. envoys that any European troops sent to Ukraine after a ceasefire would be "absolutely unacceptable" and Russia would regard the deployment as a security threat and legitimate targets.
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Russia → reaffirm → threat
"In other words, the war would resume immediately," he said.
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he → resume → words
He also said Russia regards its border with Ukraine to be sealed by a prospective peace deal as now extending to cover the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow annexed in 2022 but never fully controlled.
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Moscow → say → 2022
Zelenskyy sees a political "window of opportunity"
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Zelenskyy → see → opportunity
Zelenskyy is in Dublin for a meeting of more than 40 European countries that also includes NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
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that → include → Rutte
Rutte said the U.S., Europe and Ukraine are "very much aligned" on what security guarantees should look like, following a meeting in Paris in January.
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guarantees → say → January
"But now of course we need the peace deal, or at least a ceasefire," Rutte said.
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Rutte → need → deal
Zelenskyy said political changes, including Democrats taking over the U.S. Congress in January following midterm elections and balloting in France next year, could bring "a window of opportunity" for a peace deal.
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Democrats → say → deal
"The political landscape in Europe could change in 2027. …
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landscape → change → 2027
We also see changes already taking place in the United States," Zelenskyy said in Dublin late Wednesday.
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Zelenskyy → see → Dublin
He called the proposed prisoner exchange a positive step but also insisted Ukraine won't surrender Russian-occupied territory in return for peace.
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Ukraine → call → peace
Russia and Ukraine have occasionally swapped prisoners, but both sides remain far apart in their terms for accepting a settlement.
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sides → swap → settlement
Fighting continues as another bitter winter approaches
Amid the negotiations, fighting continues along the 1,200-kilometer (about 750-mile) front line.
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fighting → continue → line
Russia's bigger army has been held back by dogged Ukrainian resistance while Moscow's drone and missile strikes on Ukraine's energy facilities disrupted heat, electricity and water supplies to Ukrainian cities, sapping public morale in what Kyiv calls a "weaponization of winter."
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Kyiv → hold → winter
Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses downed 71 Ukrainian drones overnight.
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defenses → say → drones
Its forces struck a drone-manufacturing plant in Kyiv and three other facilities producing missile fuel and drone components in the area around the Ukrainian capital, the ministry said.
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ministry → strike → capital
Russia launched missiles and 123 drones, 73 of them jet-powered drones, at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian air force said.
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force → launch → Ukraine
Hits were recorded at 17 locations, it said.
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it → record → locations
U.S. Starlink problems return, Zelenskyy says
Ukraine is experiencing another slowdown in the U.S. Starshield system — SpaceX's military-grade version of the Starlink satellite internet service — that the country needs to defend itself against Russian attacks, Zelenskyy said Thursday on social media.
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Zelenskyy → return → media
Military units have recorded "significant disruptions," including speed restrictions limiting Ukrainian drones to 161 kph (100 mph), Zelenskyy said, adding that a military investigation established that the restrictions weren't random errors.
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restrictions → record → kph
Ukraine uses Starlink and Starshield for intercepting Russian drones and launching its own strikes.
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Ukraine → use → strikes
Last month, limits on Ukrainian drone speeds severely disrupted operations and alarmed Kyiv officials who fear U.S. support could drop off.
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support → disrupt → officials
Elon Musk acknowledged that his company SpaceX had throttled the Starlink internet service in Ukraine for about a week, saying the system couldn't be used for offensive strikes against Russia.
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system → acknowledge → Russia
Zelenskyy said in Dublin that the speed limits cover operations in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine and that Kyiv is trying to find out from U.S. officials what is going on.
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what → say → officials
"If someone in America is making decisions that basically treat Ukrainian territory as if it is not Ukrainian, then this tells us where things are going," he said.
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he → make → us
Russian colonel reportedly killed by a car bomb
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colonel → kill → bomb
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
