US joins new round of talks with Ukraine and Russia, but Ukrainians doubt any major breakthrough

Kyiv – Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov confirmed on Wednesday that a new round of trilateral peace talks involving Ukraine, Russia and the US have begun in Abu Dhabi. The parties met for the first time in the Emirati capital at the end of January, kicking off the first of three talks since Russia launched full invasion of Ukraine about four years ago.

A US official told CBS News that Wednesday’s talks “were fruitful, and they will continue tomorrow morning.”

American officials called the first round a “very constructive war,” and it appears to have led to the latest “power agreement,” with both sides halting attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure for four days.

But whatever momentum may have been created by the first round of talks in January appeared to dissipate when the second round began.

Russia violated a brief truce between Monday night and Tuesday morning, launching 450 drones and more than 60 missiles into Ukraine, according to Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who said the strikes left 1,170 apartments in Kyiv without heat.

Representatives of DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, told CBS News that the strikes were not forthcoming. “one of the worst attacks” on the country’s power the infrastructure of every war.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the strikes proof that Russia’s leaders “do not take communication seriously.”

“This attack did not surprise anyone. This is what Russia is doing,” Yuriy Sak, an adviser to the Ministry of Industry of Ukraine, told CBS News. “On the one hand, they keep saying they want peace. On the other hand, they destroy our infrastructure, bombard our people, and people are left without heat during these intense months.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said before the talks in Abu Dhabi that the Russian military is “targeted and believed to be related to the military base of the Kyiv regime, and the operation is ongoing.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who visited Kyiv shortly after the attack this week, said on social media that he had visited a “humanitarian cremation facility” hit by Russian missiles on Tuesday. “There is no military advantage – the attack is aimed at making people suffer.”

What to expect from three case interviews

Two key points have long played a role in impeding President Trump’s efforts to get Russia and Ukraine to agree on a peace deal: Russia’s demands that Ukraine formally relinquish Russian-held territory in the eastern Donbas region, and Ukraine’s demands for reliable guarantees from Western powers to protect them if Russia tries to attack again after a ceasefire is reached.

Zelensyy made it clear late last year that the question of land concessions remains a major obstacle in the negotiations. It is unlikely to be resolved during this period of negotiations, according to the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Georgiy Tykhyi, who told reporters as the talks began that, “critical and complex issues, such as local issues,” will be left to the heads of state to discuss.

But progress can be made on other issues, including how Ukraine’s security guarantees will work once the ceasefire is put into effect.

Ukraine and Russia also sent delegations led by key military officials. The Ukrainian delegation includes Kyrylo Budanov, the former head of military intelligence who now serves as Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, while the Russian delegation is led by Igor Kostyukov, the head of military intelligence for the GRU.

These are the negotiators who met in Abu Dhabi at the end of January, Sak, a Ukrainian adviser, said could help keep things moving, at least on the technical aspects of the peace agreement.

“If the military guys meet the soldiers, they can develop, they can speak the same language,” he said. “Strong measures and measures to ensure security – the soldiers on both sides are ready to discuss.”

“I personally still don’t doubt some strong result, but at the same time, I am surrounded by people here in Ukraine who believe that some real result can happen soon,” said Sak. “When the time comes when the leaders meet, points and details will be worked out and hopefully we can reach an agreement that is unique to Ukraine and the world.”