36 missiles hit Kyiv as Europe joins 4th round of Ukraine talks
Paris and other capitals will attend the Abu Dhabi negotiations Tuesday and Wednesday, despite Kremlin objections to a trilateral format.
By Rebecca Foster ·
Russia launched 36 ballistic missiles at the Kyiv area overnight on Saturday. Ukrainian authorities confirmed that air defense systems intercepted only four of the projectiles. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of treating diplomacy as a form of aggression while the war continues.
European officials are scheduled to join the next round of U.S.-brokered peace talks this week. France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, told French radio on Sunday that Paris will participate to ensure Europe’s voice is heard. The talks are set to begin on Tuesday and conclude on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
This will be the fourth meeting between the warring nations mediated by the Trump administration. It is the first session since February in Geneva. Previous rounds have yielded little progress, partly because the U.S. administration shifted focus to its conflict with Iran.
The Kremlin initially rejected a European role. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a Russian news channel on Friday that the trilateral format between Washington, Moscow, and Kyiv was already agreed. He criticized European governments for failing to designate a single speaker, though he acknowledged that security discussions would eventually require their involvement.
U.S. President Donald Trump met Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev on Thursday. Trump stated that a coming agreement would involve more than Ukraine and might include all of Europe. Zelenskyy warned on Friday that he had not received details of this potential deal. He compared the current situation to the 1945 Yalta conference, where Allied leaders divided Europe without consulting all affected nations.
Russia’s delegation for the Abu Dhabi meetings will be led by Vladimir Medinsky, a hardline aide to President Vladimir Putin. Medinsky has participated in most negotiations since March 2022. For the first time, the team includes Deputy Foreign Ministers Sergei Ryabkov and Mikhail Galuzin. It also features Yury Zhigarlovsky, a deputy head of the General Staff’s operations directorate, and military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov.
The inclusion of senior military and diplomatic figures suggests Moscow is prepared to address complex political and military issues. However, the Institute for the Study of War noted that some of these officials previously sought to slow down talks or push harder for Moscow’s demands. The core gaps remain substantial. Russia demands that Ukraine cede large parts of its territory and renounce NATO membership. Zelenskyy insists that any security commitments must specify who would act and how if Russia attacked again.
The timing of the talks coincides with political shifts in the United States. Democrats won the recent midterm elections, which Zelenskyy said could improve Ukraine’s chances of receiving more U.S. aid. Russia may seek to push the Trump administration’s deal outlines before a Democratic-controlled Congress takes office in January. A separate trilateral meeting between Trump, Chinese President Xi, and Putin is also under discussion for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen later this month.
