Kremlin adds diplomats and military officials to its delegation for Abu Dhabi talks with the US and Ukraine on 10 to 11 November

Russian diplomats and military officials will join talks with the US and Ukraine, the Kremlin said¹. Russia is upgrading its delegation for the talks in Abu Dhabi², after Vladimir Putin discussed the negotiations with his Security Council on Friday². Putin has agreed to resume three-way talks with Kyiv and Washington⁴.

The US is planning a new round of talks on 10 to 11 November in Abu Dhabi, according to Special Envoy Steve Witkoff⁵. Budanov will lead the Ukrainian delegation, and Medinsky will lead the Russian side⁵.

The talks follow President Donald Trump’s claim that Russia and Ukraine “for the first time want to make a deal” as part of an expansive European settlement⁹.

Why it matters to investors

Adding military officials to the delegation broadens Russia’s side of the talks beyond diplomats^1,2. For investors, a settlement would bear on European energy supply, defense budgets and the sanctions that shape trade with Russia.

The other parties remain wary. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Trump’s plan is dangerous². European governments insist that Putin end the war before any discussion of Russia’s concerns³, and there is alarm in Europe over US plans for a security deal with Russia⁷.

The US side has set out its aims in general terms. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and envoy, wrote in a post on X this week that the US objective was a practical one³. A top Ukrainian official has expressed restrained optimism about prospects for Putin and Zelenskyy⁸.

Energy links are already shifting. In October, Trump announced a deal to allow Russia to supply diesel to the US for the first time since 2022⁸.

What to watch

The 10 to 11 November round in Abu Dhabi⁵ is the next marker. The makeup of the Russian team, with diplomats and military officials¹, will be read as a measure of how seriously Moscow treats the process.

Fighting continues alongside the diplomacy. Missiles struck Kyiv early on Saturday and injured at least five people as Ukraine prepared for the new talks with Russia and the US⁶.

Europe’s stance is the third factor. European insistence that the war end first³ and alarm over a possible US-Russia security deal⁷ bear on what any agreement in Abu Dhabi can cover².