The first day of trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States in Abu Dhabi was "constructive and quite substantive", President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday, as negotiators spent about four hours discussing security guarantees, humanitarian steps and de-escalation.

The talks, which began on 10 November and were scheduled to continue on Wednesday, are the first three-way meeting between the countries since February. US special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff represent Washington, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky leads Russia's 11-person delegation, and Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service, leads Kyiv's team.

What was discussed

Zelenskyy said he was briefed by his negotiating team after the session. "The trilateral format was constructive and quite substantive. They had time to discuss the need and possible parameters for humanitarian steps," he wrote on X.

"They spoke in detail about the substance of security guarantees for Ukraine and the foundations for ensuring these guarantees function over the long term," he added. "Real tools are needed to block any recurrence of the war. The need for de-escalation steps was also touched upon."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was not present at the talks, later told reporters that the first day of the trilateral was "very productive". Kushner has said the key focus is postwar security concerns and that recent contacts had narrowed the gaps between the sides, although he has not said publicly which differences were narrowed.

Donetsk remains the sticking point

The hardest question remains control of the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. Russia controls most of it, with most estimates putting the figure at about 80 to 85% of the territory, and has insisted Ukraine cede the rest. Kyiv wants to freeze the contact line instead, fearing that giving up the remaining ground would open the way for Russia to advance further.

A source in the Russian delegation said Moscow sees the main thrust of the talks as agreeing the key elements of a new post-war security framework for Europe, an idea many European politicians oppose. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said wider European security talks should come only once there is a ceasefire in Ukraine. Moscow has rejected a temporary ceasefire, saying it wants an overall deal to end the war rather than a pause in which Ukraine might re-arm.

European partners were involved before the trilateral session began. Representatives of the EU, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, the United States and NATO met in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday to coordinate on efforts to end the war and on robust security guarantees as part of any settlement.

Strikes continued as talks opened

The diplomacy took place against continued fighting. Russian forces struck ten Ukrainian regions overnight, hitting five major electrical substations, sparking widespread power outages and killing two people in the Vinnytsia region, officials said on Tuesday. State grid operator Ukrenergo said energy infrastructure in eight regions had been hit, leaving homes without power in six, including Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said separately that Russia would not agree to an immediate ceasefire without knowing what would happen next. No agreement was announced after the first day, and the talks were due to resume on Wednesday. New York Post and Reuters reported the developments.