Zelensky says Ukraine-Russia-US talks will be held in Abu Dhabi on 6-10 November; Oleshky truce holds for 30 hours

Claims by Russia and Ukraine about strikes and battlefield events cannot be independently confirmed.

Technical-level talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States on ending the war will take place in Abu Dhabi from 6 to 10 November, President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a press conference in The Hague on Wednesday 28 October, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported.

Asked about a meeting with Vladimir Putin, Zelensky said: “I don’t know when we will have a meeting with Russia on the level of leaders.” He said it depended on the Russian side. He was responding to US President Donald Trump, who told reporters earlier on Wednesday that a Putin-Zelensky meeting would be set up “very soon”, without giving a date or venue.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “soon” was a “flexible term” and that a leaders’ meeting would require “a very long, painstaking process”, Sputnik reported. He said security guarantees for both countries would be discussed in Abu Dhabi and must be mutual.

During Zelensky’s state visit, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten announced €500 million in military aid for the winter, including drones, and €1.2 billion in non-military support over three years, RFE/RL reported.

Oleshky ceasefire and overnight strikes

Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said the first 30 hours of the US-brokered local ceasefire around Russian-occupied Oleshky passed “without a single incident”, The Kyiv Independent reported. RFE/RL said both sides confirmed there had been no breaches. The truce is due to last until 1 November.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched one ballistic missile, one cruise missile and 88 drones overnight, and that 71 drones were shot down. Regional officials said Russian attacks killed two people and injured 17 over the past day, including in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions.

Russia’s defence ministry said on Wednesday its forces had captured Alisovka in Kharkiv region and Barylivka in Sumy region. Ukraine’s 8th Air Assault Corps said Barylivka remained under Ukrainian control, LB.ua reported.

Background

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Zelensky said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces were retaking territory through several operations, The Guardian reported. Peskov said on Wednesday that Russia was “expanding the territories it has liberated” every day. See also: Oleshky ceasefire begins as Russia strikes Kyiv.