Russia will send a more senior diplomatic and military team to U.S.-mediated talks with Ukraine in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 10 and 11 than it has in earlier rounds this year, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian media on Friday. The composition points to Moscow treating the first trilateral session since February as a higher-stakes round, even though the Kremlin has not announced any change to its war aims.
Who is on the Russian side
Presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky will again lead the delegation, Peskov said through the Interfax news agency. He will be joined by Deputy Foreign Ministers Sergei Ryabkov and Mikhail Galuzin, senior General Staff officer Yuri Zhigarlovsky, and Igor Kostyukov, who heads the Main Directorate of the General Staff, the military intelligence service widely known as the GRU.
Ryabkov oversees Russia’s relations with the Americas and arms-control portfolios in Washington’s file, and his inclusion marks the first time he has joined this negotiating format. Galuzin and Kostyukov have taken part in earlier exploratory missions, according to Reuters.
How the meeting fits the calendar
The UAE-hosted talks are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday and would be the first three-way meeting among Russia, Ukraine and the United States since sessions paused in February. Russia's delegation members attended a Security Council meeting with President Vladimir Putin on Friday that the Kremlin said was devoted in part to preparations, though most of the session was held behind closed doors.
Putin thanked the United Arab Emirates for hosting the talks during the portion televised by Russian state media. U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff had already publicized the Abu Dhabi dates earlier in the week.
What Kyiv is sending
Ukrainian officials said their side will be led by Rustem Umerov, head of the Foreign Intelligence Service. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's parliamentary faction chief David Arakhamia told the Kyiv Independent that the delegation would also include chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov and Arakhamia himself.
The diplomatic push lands alongside continued Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities and power infrastructure. Ukrainian officials reported another major overnight attack on Kyiv as Moscow announced its upgraded delegation list.
What diplomats read into the roster
Diplomatic observers quoted by Bloomberg and Reuters said pairing Ryabkov with Kostyukov suggests Moscow may be prepared to discuss both political guarantees and battlefield realities in one room, rather than limiting the agenda to technical ceasefire lines. Western officials have cautioned that higher-ranking attendees do not by themselves signal concessions.
Zelenskyy has warned that elements of a reported U.S. framework could leave Ukraine exposed along future borders. Washington has pressed for a negotiated end to Russia’s full-scale invasion as the war approaches its fifth year.
What happens next
Negotiators are expected to open work in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. Peskov said presidential international-affairs aide Yuri Ushakov would oversee preparations from Moscow. Ukrainian and Russian officials have not published a public agenda, and prior rounds in Abu Dhabi and Geneva stalled without a durable ceasefire.