U.S. envoys brief Putin in Moscow after Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi

U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Thursday to brief him on peace efforts following two days of U.S.-mediated Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi, the first direct Russian-Ukrainian discussions in nine months. The Abu Dhabi talks produced no major breakthrough beyond an agreement to swap a large number of prisoners, with the exact figure pending. Kushner and Witkoff sought Putin's blessing for European representatives to join negotiations, but Putin reaffirmed that any European troops deployed to Ukraine after a ceasefire would be "absolutely unacceptable" and regarded as legitimate targets. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meeting European leaders in Dublin, called the prisoner exchange positive but insisted Ukraine won't surrender Russian-occupied territory. Fighting continues along the 1,200-kilometer front line, with Russia striking Ukrainian energy facilities and Ukraine reporting significant disruptions to its U.S.-provided Starshield satellite service.