US envoy Steve Witkoff has announced that Russian and Ukrainian delegations are expected to hold talks in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11, with Washington acting as mediator. He said the agenda would include postwar security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts and further steps toward peace.
Witkoff also said US negotiators would travel to Brussels during the week to meet representatives of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the European Union and NATO to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine. Russia said in late October that it was ready to resume peace negotiations, which have been stalled since the start of the year. The most recent trilateral meeting involving Russian, Ukrainian and US delegations took place in Geneva in mid-February and did not produce a settlement.
Separately, Russian bombardments on Monday struck Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhia region while humanitarian aid was being distributed at a school. Zelensky said 26 people had been killed, five were in hospital and rescue teams were still searching for people beneath the rubble. Local authorities later reported a toll of 29 dead, five injured and 48 missing.
The attacks came amid reports of Russian strikes elsewhere in Ukraine. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said a strike on a medical facility in the city injured dozens and led to the evacuation of 200 patients. Ukrainian officials also reported missile alerts and damage to critical infrastructure in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Sources: Le Monde International.