US Envoys Meet Putin in Moscow After Ukraine Talks in Abu Dhabi

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow Thursday to advance peace efforts after two days of U.S.-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, which yielded only a prisoner swap agreement. The envoys sought Putin's blessing for European representatives to join negotiations, but Putin reaffirmed that any European troops deployed to Ukraine after a ceasefire are "absolutely unacceptable" and would be treated as legitimate targets. He also insisted Russia's border extends to four annexed Ukrainian regions it never fully controlled. Fighting continues along the 1,200-kilometer front line as Ukraine faces another winter of Russian strikes on energy infrastructure. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meeting European leaders in Dublin, cited political changes in the U.S. and Europe as a potential "window of opportunity" for a peace deal.