Ukraine talks gain momentum as US and Russian officials meet in Abu Dhabi

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New wave of Russian strikes on Kyiv
00:20 • Source: CNN
New wave of Russian strikes on Kyiv
00:20
Russia and Ukraine traded deadly attacks overnight, killing and wounding civilians and damaging infrastructure.
Russia launched 22 missiles and 260 drones into Ukraine, killing six people and wounding 13, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The strikes caused “extensive damage to residential buildings and civilian infrastructure” in Kyiv and targeted “the energy sector and everything that keeps normal life going,” Zelensky said.
Ukraine, meanwhile, launched a major drone attack on Russia, killing three people and wounding eight, according to Russia’s Defense Ministry.
Russian forces intercepted and destroyed 249 Ukrainian drones, including 116 that were launched over the Black Sea, the ministry said. The strikes damaged residential buildings and homes in the Russian port city Novorossiysk, according to local officials.
The commander of Ukraine’s military drone unit, Robert Brovdi, hailed Tuesday as Kyiv’s “most productive” night in November, saying the drone attack did “deep damage” to Russia.
In Romania, NATO fighter jets were scrambled to protect its airspace as Russia attacked Ukraine overnight, according to Reuters. The jets took off after at least one Russian drone breached Romanian airspace near the border with Ukraine, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing Romania’s defense ministry.
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll held meetings with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi yesterday about a proposed plan for ending the war in Ukraine, a US official told CNN.
Driscoll will continue the meetings today, which are meant to lay the groundwork for higher-level engagements, the official said.
The meetings follow days of intense diplomacy in Switzerland, where American and Ukrainian officials negotiated over the 28-point proposal, which was authored by the US with input from Russia and Ukraine.
What Ukraine is saying: President Volodymyr Zelensky said the amended proposal drafted by US and Ukrainian officials contains “fewer points than 28, and many proper considerations have been taken into account in this framework.” He said he and Trump would discuss “sensitive issues” in the proposal. He also expressed his thanks to a flurry of world leaders, a day after Trump claimed that the Ukrainian leadership had shown “zero gratitude” for US-led peace efforts.
What Russia is saying: The Kremlin said the original 28-point proposal “in principle, could form the basis for a final peace settlement.” President Vladimir Putin said the version of the plan he saw is “in line with the discussions” at the US-Russia summit in Alaska this year. It’s unclear which version is now under consideration.
What the US is saying: President Donald Trump “remains hopeful and optimistic that a deal can be struck” to end the war, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
What European leaders are saying: French President Emmanuel Macron has dismissed key aspects of the peace plan proposed by the US, even as he described it as a good step. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the Geneva talks established a “solid basis for moving forward,” while NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte cautioned that some points still need to be worked out.
CNN’s Natasha Bertrand, Svitlana Vlasova, Caitlin Danaher, Lauren Kent, Anna Chernova, Gul Tuysuz, Catherine Nicholls, Charlotte Reck, Michael Williams, Eve Brennan, Billy Stockwell, Morgan Rimmer, Lex Harvey and Donald Judd contributed reporting to this post.