President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that representatives of the Ukrainian, American, and Russian delegations are "discussing the parameters for ending the war" and that Ukraine's team should receive "at least part of the answers from Russia."
"It's important because there haven't been such trilateral meeting formats for a long time," Zelenskyy said, adding that "the main thing is that Russia is ready to end this war that it started itself."
However, according to Zelenskyy, it is too early to draw conclusions today.
Ukrainian and Russian negotiators began two days of trilateral talks with US mediators in Abu Dhabi on 23 January, marking the first such format since the war began.
The Ukrainian delegation is led by National Security and Defence Council Secretary Rustem Umerov and includes Chief of Defence Intelligence Kyrylo Budanov, Presidential Office Deputy Head Serhiy Kyslytsia, Servant of the People faction leader Davyd Arakhamiy.The president also clarified that Chief of General Staff Andriy Hnatov and Defence Intelligence representative Vadym Skibitsky will join the negotiations tomorrow.
The US delegation includes NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Alexus Grinkevich, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, presidential special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and White House adviser Josh Grunbaum.
Russia has not disclosed its full delegation composition, though it is headed by GRU Chief Admiral Igor Kostyukov, according to reports.
The central issue dividing the parties is control over Donbas. According to Reuters, a source close to the Kremlin said Moscow is pushing what it calls the "Anchorage formula" — allegedly established during President Trump's August 2025 summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska — which would grant Russia control over all of Donbas while freezing current front lines elsewhere in eastern and southern Ukraine.
"The question of Donbas is key," Zelenskyy confirmed in a WhatsApp media chat on 22 January, noting that discussions would focus on "how the three sides see this."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia's insistence on Ukraine ceding all of Donbas is "a very important condition." This includes roughly 5,000 square kilometers of Donetsk Oblast that Ukrainian forces still control after four years of fighting.
Zelenskyy has repeatedly rejected ceding territory that Russia failed to capture militarily.
Financial Times reported that the US and Ukraine also want to propose an energy truce: Moscow would stop striking Ukrainian energy infrastructure while Ukraine would not attack Russian refineries and ships in the Black Sea. Russia violated a previous such agreement in spring 2025.
Despite the territorial impasse, Zelenskyy said progress has been made on security guarantees. He told reporters that a deal on US security guarantees for Ukraine is "ready" and awaiting only Trump's signature on a specific date and place.
"It's too early to draw conclusions about the content of today's negotiations," Zelenskyy said. "We'll see how the conversation goes tomorrow and what results there will be. It's necessary that not only Ukraine has the desire to end this war and achieve full security — that a similar desire somehow finally emerges in Russia as well."
The talks remain highly closed, with no media representatives present at the working group sessions. They will last for two days.
