Key facts
- Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said the second day opens in a trilateral format with the United States and Russia, followed by a separate meeting with European partners.
- The second day is the last day with meetings scheduled, according to the report.
- Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergii Koretskyi said Russia struck six large electricity substations in four central regions of Ukraine.
- Drone debris hit an apartment building in Russia's Smolensk region, killing two people, TASS reported, citing the regional governor.
- Russia's defence ministry said its forces struck a cargo vessel in the Black Sea southwest of Odesa carrying weapons and military equipment for Ukraine.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin is briefed constantly by the Russian delegation.
Russian, Ukrainian and US officials began a second day of peace talks in Abu Dhabi on November 11, resuming meetings that Kyiv and Washington described on November 9 as constructive but that produced no early signs of a breakthrough. Ukrainian and Russian negotiators gave no details after the first round, the first between the warring sides since February, and the two sides entered the talks far apart on terms for a possible settlement.
"We are starting the second day of the talks," Rustem Umerov, Ukraine's top negotiator, said on the Telegram app. "First, there will be a trilateral format with the United States and Russia. After that, we will have a separate meeting with the European partners." The second day is the last day when meetings are scheduled.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who like Russian President Vladimir Putin is not attending, said the first day's "substantive" discussions covered humanitarian and security issues, and that a potential summit of Russian, Ukrainian and US leaders could be discussed on Tuesday. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the first day as very productive without giving details.
Territory is not the only issue at stake. Others include future security guarantees, which both sides want, and Moscow's demands that Ukraine adopt neutral status and not join NATO. Russian forces control about a fifth of Ukraine, and there has been no public sign that Putin is willing to drop his demand that Ukraine surrender the entire eastern region of Donbas before a peace deal. Zelenskiy has repeatedly refused to hand over land Ukrainian troops have died defending.