US presses Russia for Ukraine security guarantees as Abu Dhabi talks open

US President Donald Trump said he was close to a "big, beautiful agreement" on Ukraine that "might involve all of Europe," the BBC reported, as the first three-way peace talks since February opened in Abu Dhabi this week. France, Germany and the UK have officials in the city, but the Kremlin says they are not part of the formal negotiations, which it insists remain strictly between Russia, Ukraine and the United States.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot disputed that account, saying France, the UK and Germany "will indeed be in the meeting room," the BBC reported. Ukraine's chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, said his delegation would hold separate coordination meetings with European partners in Abu Dhabi alongside the trilateral talks.

Trump dismissed a question at a White House briefing about Russian President Vladimir Putin's repeated failure to meet his ceasefire deadlines, interrupting the reporter to ask which outlet she worked for and calling her network "fake" without addressing the question, Kyiv Post reported. Ukraine's defence ministry separately said its forces had inflicted what it called a record monthly total of Russian personnel losses in October, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying Ukraine's battlefield gains were strengthening its position ahead of the talks.

Kyiv's offer of a ceasefire limited to strikes on energy infrastructure has already been rejected by Moscow, Austrian outlet Kronen Zeitung reported. A US official, speaking anonymously, said Russia and Ukraine had privately shown "a little bit of flexibility" on control of eastern Ukraine, even though both sides' public positions remain far apart.

The key dispute remains Ukraine's Donetsk region, mostly occupied by Russia. Moscow wants Kyiv to cede the parts it still holds, while Ukraine wants to freeze the current front line to keep the sections it says are vital to its own security. The US official said the issue would not be resolved without agreement on a postwar "security architecture" first, including a possible reactivation of the Nato-Russia Council, largely paused since 2022.

Russia's delegation in Abu Dhabi is led by Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky and includes deputy foreign ministers Sergei Ryabkov and Mikhail Galuzin, military intelligence chief Igor Kostyukov and General Yury Zhigarlovsky. Ukraine's team is led by Umerov and includes presidential chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov, ruling-party lawmaker Davyd Arakhamia and deputy presidential office head Serhii Kyslytsia.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said the talks would show whether Moscow was serious about a settlement and urged Russia to drop its "maximalist demands," speaking at a G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Paris. Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said simply holding the talks was significant after a long gap without face-to-face negotiations. US envoy Jared Kushner said Russia and Europe would eventually need direct talks of their own on "broader security arrangements" as part of any deal.

Zelensky said he had coordinated positions with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ahead of the talks, writing on social media that Kyiv was "doing everything we can to ensure that the trilateral format yields results." He also spoke separately with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying Modi had repeatedly urged Russia to end the war and that India was ready to help set up Black Sea corridors for Ukrainian grain exports.