Abu Dhabi, November 8. Ukraine’s delegation to the talks in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11 will be led by Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, while the head of the president’s office, Kyrylo Budanov, will be part of it, Volodymyr Zelensky’s adviser Dmytro Lytvyn explained.
The clarification was needed after an interview with CBS News in which Budanov said he would lead the Ukrainian delegation himself. He added that the meeting “will not be a breakthrough” but that holding it is “progress”, and said he hoped it would not be the last, according to a retelling of the interview.
The US delegation will be led by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, a Russian agency report says. The Russian delegation will be led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky. The meeting will be held at working-group level. Witkoff named four areas: post-war security arrangements, de-escalation, humanitarian issues and further steps towards peace. Zelensky said that Abu Dhabi will above all discuss security guarantees and a package of measures for Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction, the outlet reports.
Europeans were not invited to the negotiating table: Moscow insists on a three-way format without European countries, a Russian outlet recalls. This week the American negotiators will meet in Brussels with representatives of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the European Union and NATO.
What it means: Two names have been given at the head of Ukraine’s delegation in different statements: Budanov said he would lead it himself, while Zelensky’s adviser clarified that Umerov will go and Budanov will be part of the team. The difference matters, because the delegation’s authority depends on who leads the talks.
What we know now: The heads of all three sides are named: Medinsky for Russia, Umerov for Ukraine and Witkoff with Kushner for the US. European countries will not be at the table; before the meeting the Americans consult them in Brussels. The full line-ups of the Ukrainian and American delegations have not yet been named.
Background: Earlier three-way meetings in Abu Dhabi were held in January 2026; the make-up of the Russian delegation, named by the Kremlin on November 7, we examined in a separate report.
We have also reported on preparations for the talks in Abu Dhabi.
