The second day of trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the US begins in Abu Dhabi

The talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to try to advance a peace process that puts an end to the invasion unleashed by Moscow in February 2022 have entered their second day this Thursday, amid exchanges of accusations about new waves of drone attacks during the early hours, with no information on victims for now.

The secretary of the Ukrainian National Defense Council, Rustem Umerov, has confirmed through a message published early this Thursday on his social networks that “the second day of negotiations in Abu Dhabi has begun”, without the Russian side having made any statements in this regard for now.

“We are working in the same format as yesterday: trilateral consultations, working groups and coordination on positions,” said Umerov, who on Wednesday, after the first day of this second round of contacts, stated that the work had been “substantial and productive” and had been focused “on concrete measures and practical solutions.”

Abu Dhabi already hosted a two-day meeting at the end of January between the delegations of Ukraine, Russia and the United States, focused on one of the most difficult aspects of the peace negotiations: Ukraine’s post-war territorial situation, including Moscow’s demands to maintain control of the eastern Donbas region.

In this context, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Russia have exchanged a new wave of drone attacks during the last morning, as reported by both countries, which, however, have not given details about the targets attacked with these barrages.

The Ukrainian Air Force has stated that Russian troops have launched 183 kamikaze drones and two ‘Iskander’ type ballistic missiles in the last few hours, before adding that air defense systems managed to shoot down 156 unmanned aerial devices before they reached their targets.

However, it has confirmed that “impacts from ballistic missiles and 22 drones have been recorded in 16 points of the country, as well as the fall of fragments from intercepted devices in seven other points”, without commenting on victims. “The attack continues, since there are numerous enemy drones in the airspace,” he warned.

For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense has reported that the country’s air defense systems have destroyed 95 drones launched by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the last few hours, including 36 in the skies of the Krasnodar region.

Added to them are another 27 devices in Rostov, 21 in the Sea of ​​Azov, eight in Belgorod and one in Volgograd, as well as another two over the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, a step that since then has not been recognized as legitimate by the international community.