Zelensky details call with US envoys before White House and Abu Dhabi talks

A call ahead of a crowded week

Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday, 4 November, that he had held a detailed conversation of an hour and a half with the US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. He made the announcement in a post on X while visiting Madrid for the XXX Ibero-American Summit. According to Kyiv, deliveries of Patriot interceptor missiles from the United States have been delayed amid differences with the Trump administration, and the issue was raised during the call. Reported topics also included air-defence munitions, a US-Ukraine drone agreement and security guarantees after the war. Zelensky said Ukraine had already passed its proposals to the American side and that the negotiations had to move faster.

“The negotiations must move forward at full throttle to bring this war to an end as quickly as possible.”

Abu Dhabi talks and Kyiv's priorities

Negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States are due to meet in Abu Dhabi on 10 and 11 November, the first trilateral round since February. Officials of the European External Action Service said the European Union would not take part in that format, which they described as trilateral. Zelensky listed Ukraine's priorities as a ceasefire covering energy and critical infrastructure, unblocking exports through the Black Sea, prisoner exchanges and security guarantees. Reports indicate the technical work could lead to a leaders' summit involving Zelensky, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Kyiv has long sought a ceasefire along the current front lines, while Moscow has repeatedly rejected such proposals and wants Ukraine to give up territory it does not hold. The round follows a sharp setback for Trump in the midterm elections, and a recent rapprochement between Trump and Putin has raised fears in Kyiv that Washington could turn its back on the country.

White House and Brussels meetings

Melania Trump's office said the first lady would bring Russian and Ukrainian representatives together at the White House, without naming a date. According to TASS, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Moscow's adviser for international economic cooperation Kirill Dmitriev and ombudsman Yana Lantratova would meet her on 5 November, provided all logistical arrangements work out. Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said he too would meet her in Washington. In Brussels, officials from Ukraine, the United States, Europe and NATO began talks on 4 November on economic recovery after the war, and another session on security guarantees was set for 5 November. Zelensky said work on each bilateral track with America must continue, including the drone agreement.

The Oleshky truce

In October, Melania Trump announced a localised truce in Oleshky, a city held by Russian forces, so that residents could leave after weeks of shortages of food, drinking water, electricity and medicine. Russian forces had blocked humanitarian groups from delivering aid to the city. The pause was respected by both sides, and residents were able to move on to either Ukraine or Russia. Zelensky later presented the first lady with a Ukrainian state decoration for her part in arranging the pause. She has also repeatedly pressed for the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia. Her office has not yet given a date for the planned gathering at the White House.