US Envoys Secure European Role in Ukraine Peace Talks
US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff secured an agreement to include European nations in future peace talks and a record-breaking prisoner exchange with Russia.
US Special Envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff mediated a diplomatic push between November 10 and 13, 2026, to end the war in Ukraine. The effort began with two days of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi—the first direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in nine months—which resulted in an in-principle agreement for a large-scale prisoner exchange potentially involving thousands of detainees.
Following the Abu Dhabi summit, Kushner and Witkoff traveled to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and then to Dublin to brief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In Moscow, Putin agreed to include European representatives in the next round of negotiations, a key US goal to build consensus on postwar security. However, Putin maintained hardline positions, demanding full control of the Donbas region and ruling out the deployment of foreign peacekeeping troops in Ukraine.
Despite the humanitarian breakthrough and the expanded negotiating format, fundamental deadlocks remain. Zelenskyy rejected demands to cede occupied territory and expressed skepticism toward the US strategy of discussing European security architecture with Russia. He also reported disruptions to the Starshield satellite network, suggesting deliberate US restrictions. Meanwhile, military escalation continued, with Russia launching strikes on Kyiv and Ukraine targeting Russian oil refineries. The envoys characterized the process as moving a boulder uphill, though they noted the restart of trilateral talks as a significant first step.
