US Envoy Steve Witkoff Announces Russia-Ukraine Negotiations As ‘Next Steps Toward Peace’

Special Envoy Steve Witkoff has announced a new round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine that the U.S. will mediate next week.

Witkoff announced Monday on X that the “working-level negotiations” will take place from Nov. 10–11 in Abu Dhabi and that the U.S. will mediate them as part of “advancing President Trump’s mission to end the war.”

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the U.S. has sought to support Ukraine, supplying it with weaponry and diplomatic solutions to end the conflict. But under President Donald Trump, who pledged to end the conflict swiftly upon assigning the keys to the White House, U.S. military support for Ukraine has dramatically decreased.

In Fiscal Year 2026, the U.S. allocated $220 million to Kyiv—representing a 99% drop from the peak years of the conflict. Trump has criticized Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who recently asked the U.S. for more support.

In October, the White House also temporarily waived sanctions to allow Russian diesel into global markets to lower domestic fuel costs ahead of the midterm elections.

What Peace Talks Will Involve

The upcoming talks are the first face-to-face negotiations since February, before the United States and Israel launched war with Iran.

It also comes just two weeks after Witkoff met with Zelensky in Oslo and Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg, the latter of which drew some scrutiny due to Witkoff referring to the longtime Russian leader as a “humanitarian.”

“Discussions will focus on post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian efforts, and next steps toward peace,” Witkoff said Monday.

Credit: Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

Concurrently, Witkoff also said that U.S. negotiations will meet this week in Brussels, Belgium, with representatives from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the EU, and NATO to further work to end the fighting.

At this meeting, the country representatives will “discuss security guarantees for Ukraine, Europe’s post-war security architecture, and economic opportunities to support Ukraine’s reconstruction,” he said. “We look forward to building on the progress made in Kyiv, Oslo, and St. Petersburg toward a comprehensive, durable peace agreement that delivers lasting security for generations to come.”

Russia and Ukraine Continue Fighting

Ahead of the mediated talks, the war continues.

Zelensky said on Monday that Russia launched strikes that hit a humanitarian site Ukraine is using to distribute aid, killing around 26 people.

“The Russians struck first ‌just as people were arriving—a few aerial bombs,” the Ukrainian president said. “Then there was a second strike—more air bombs, this time on ‌the shelter. A vile terrorist strike.”

The local governor of the Russian city of Yaroslavl also claimed Ukrainian drones damaged an oil refinery in the city, injuring two employees on Tuesday.