Ukraine aims to start Abu Dhabi talks on Nov. 3

Ukraine is pushing to start trilateral peace talks with the United States and Russia at least one week earlier than the currently planned schedule. The Ukrainian delegation wants the session to begin on November 3 in Abu Dhabi, rather than the tentative start date of November 10. This proposed change would pull the negotiations forward into the period immediately following the US congressional midterm elections.

As of the evening of October 25, Moscow had not confirmed the date change. Yuri Ushakov, an aide to the Russian leader, stated that Russia is ready to resume trilateral negotiations after November 4. The timing is critical for Kyiv, with a source in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's team noting that in December, every week matters when residents lack power, water, or heating.

The Ukrainian side is also demanding the inclusion of an EU representative in the talks. Russia opposes seating Europeans at the table during the first meeting. A source close to the negotiation team said the Ukrainian team plans to bring European envoys to Abu Dhabi to brief them in real time. These representatives currently lack a mandate to make decisions, operating primarily in a signal-receiving mode. Bjorn Seibert, head of cabinet for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, has emerged as the likely EU representative over the last two meetings.

Negotiators do not expect a breakthrough at the initial session. A member of Zelenskyy's team who has participated in previous rounds predicted that new delegations will need the first meeting to adjust to one another. Substantive work is expected to begin at the second session, with real decisions potentially emerging by the third. The Ukrainian proposal is to define the general shape of post-war peace before debating specific territorial divisions. Davyd Arakhamia, leader of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, told American officials that the final peace configuration must be acceptable to residents of Kharkiv and Dnipro.

A source from the President's Office added that Russia still believes it can break Ukraine this winter. Ukrainian officials maintain that trust in US President Donald Trump is only 6% higher than trust in Russian President Vladimir Putin, meaning Kyiv will not rely solely on American assurances for security. The next step involves finalizing the delegation composition and confirming the November 3 start date with Moscow.

Kyiv, along with Washington, is currently working to convince the Russian side to agree to the earlier meeting. The US government has indicated that the next round of talks could take place in either Abu Dhabi or Switzerland. Zelenskyy has previously stated that Ukraine will not accept limits on its armed forces size or neutral status as part of any peace deal.