Today, November 11, in Abu Dhabi is the second day of talks between Ukraine and Russia, with the mediation of the United States. The aim remains the same: to find conditions for peace in Ukraine. A prospect that however remains distant. And the attacks that also marked Eastern Europe last night are proof of this.
Second round
As indicated by Ukrainian President Zelensky, on the agenda today are “de-escalation measures” regarding energy and Black Sea issues.
The leader of Kiev was quite positive at the end of the first day of talks. “I see changes. I am very satisfied with what I hear. We will see what can be done,” he declared late in the evening from Copenhagen, where he was visiting. According to the Ukrainian president, the crucial issue of territories was addressed during this first round of discussions. While Moscow demands the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk region (east), Zelensky said Kiev would need “very specific security guarantees” in this regard. Also yesterday, according to Zelensky, the possibility of a “big” prisoner exchange between Kiev and Moscow was also discussed.
On the field we fight
On the field, however, attacks continue from both sides. Another winter without heating, running water or electricity is feared for millions of Ukrainians.
A Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at dawn in the important oil port of Ust-Luga, in north-west Russia, injuring three employees: this was reported by Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad region. According to data from the Tass agency, this is the largest attack suffered by the region since the beginning of the year; the governor spoke of at least 150 drones neutralized. Furthermore, some raids followed by a fire caused two victims in Yarcevo, a Russian city in the Smolensk region, not far from the border with Belarus, the local governor announced.
Russian drones hit Ukrainian energy infrastructure in Krivoj Rog and the Odessa region during the night. Russian forces also struck a ship carrying weapons and military equipment destined for the Ukrainian army in the Black Sea, southwest of Odessa.
What space for Europe
And the EU in all this? Formally, the USA has assured that it wants to include the Old Continent in the negotiations. And as anticipated by Zelensky, the Europeans will have to designate their own representative for the negotiations by November.
So far, however, Russia is trying to keep Europe out of the discussions. Moscow is pushing to keep the table “armoured” in a trilateral format limited to Russia, Ukraine and the USA. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Grusko explicitly stated that EU representatives “are not part of the process”.