US to host Ukraine–Russia talks in Abu Dhabi next week on ending the war

US envoy Steve Witkoff has said the United States will bring together delegations from Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, next week for talks on ending Russia's war against Ukraine. In a social media post he said the agenda covers post-war security agreements, de-escalation, humanitarian measures and ending the war. The two sides remain far apart on the terms of any possible peace deal.

A senior US official told Reuters that Witkoff and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, are expected to represent Washington. Russian president Vladimir Putin agreed to a new round of trilateral talks after meeting Witkoff in St Petersburg two weeks ago. The previous US-mediated trilateral talks took place in February, before the US and Israel launched a war against Iran.

Witkoff added that US negotiators will meet this week in Brussels with representatives of the UK, France, Germany, the EU and Nato to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine, Europe's post-war security architecture and economic opportunities to support Ukraine's reconstruction.

Strike in Zaporizhzhia region

On Monday, Russian forces bombed a school used as an aid distribution point in a village in Ukraine's south-east Zaporizhzhia region, killing 26 people, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and emergency services. Zelenskyy said the first strike hit as people were arriving, followed by a second on the shelter.

Multinational force exercise

London and Paris said about 2,800 troops from 10 European countries will take part in Poland this month in the first exercise of the new Multinational Force – Ukraine. The force has no offensive mission and will be deployed only once a ceasefire ends the war. The exercise runs from 9 to 22 November in south-east Poland, near the Ukrainian border.

Other developments

Unknown hackers targeted Ukraine's national emergency alert app and sent Kyiv residents a false warning of an imminent nuclear strike. Ukraine also accuses Russia of using last week's US-backed humanitarian ceasefire in the Kherson region to strengthen its positions; nearly 800 people were evacuated from Russian-occupied Oleshky.