Russia, Ukraine clash over Donbas deadlock

Ukrainian and Russian negotiators met in Abu Dhabi Friday to tackle the vital issue of territory, with no sign of a compromise, as Russian attacks plunged Ukraine into its deepest energy crisis of the four-year war.

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Kyiv is under mounting US pressure to reach a peace deal in the war triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, with Moscow demanding Kyiv cede its entire eastern industrial area of Donbas before it stops fighting.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the territorial dispute would be a top priority of the talks in the United Arab Emirates.

“The question of Donbas is key. It will be discussed how the three sides... see this in Abu Dhabi today and tomorrow,” he told reporters in a WhatsApp chat a day after talks with US President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos that yielded no immediate results.

The negotiations in the Gulf are expected to continue on Saturday morning, Zelenskiy’s aide said.