US envoys meet Putin in Moscow after Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Thursday, following two days of US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi between Russian and Ukrainian delegations that yielded no major breakthrough. The Abu Dhabi discussions, the first direct Moscow-Kyiv talks in nine months, produced only an agreement to swap a large number of prisoners, with the exact figure pending. Kushner and Witkoff briefed Putin and are scheduled to fly to Dublin for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, as the envoys seek Russia's blessing for European representatives to join negotiations. Putin reaffirmed Moscow's rejection of any European troop presence in Ukraine, warning they would be legitimate targets, and claimed Russia's border with Ukraine as the line of control. Zelenskiy, meeting with over 40 European countries in Dublin, insisted Ukraine will not surrender occupied territory for peace, while fighting continues along the 1,200km front line.