Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky with Donald Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner (L) and Steve Witkoff (R) at a military airport outside Dublin, Ireland, November 12, 2026
EA on International Media: Assessing the Ukraine-Russia Talks
Thursday’s Coverage: Zelensky — “Window of Opportunity” as Trump Envoys Visit Putin
Vladimir Putin is maintaining his maximum demands against Ukraine, but Europe will join the next round of talks to end Russia’s 56 1/2-month full-scale invasion.
After Ukraine-Russia talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and Wednesday, Donald Trump’s envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff visited Putin in Moscow on Thursday and then saw Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in a military airport outside Dublin. The envoys and Zelensky conferred with national security advisors from Ukraine, Germany, Italy, France, Ireland, Poland, and the European Union.
Kushner implied there was no advance on issues such as a ceasefire, territory, or security guarantees in his effort to praise “meaningful progress” as “understanding both sides’ concerns, identifying possible solutions, and establishing a path forward”.
Both sides have now agreed to expand the next round of negotiations to include our European partners. This will allow us to address the broader postwar European security arrangements alongside the territorial issues between Ukraine and Russia.
He added, “We are also working toward what would be the largest prisoner exchange of the war, potentially reuniting thousands of people with their families.”
The envoy, who is also Donald Trump’s son-in-law, said, “A lasting end to the fighting requires credible security guarantees, deconfliction mechanisms, and reciprocal de-escalation commitments that reduce the risk of future conflict.”
Zelensky responded cautiously, “I hope that we will have such an agenda.”
.@SEPeaceMissions, @jaredkushner, and I met in Ireland following all the negotiations held this week.
First, a humanitarian outcome – prisoners will be released, and we are counting on the largest prisoner exchange since the start of this war. The second outcome – we are involving European representatives even more actively in diplomacy so that they can have an equal seat at the negotiating table. Ukraine always defends the interests of all of Europe. Third, we are also preparing further multilateral meetings. Diplomacy will remain active.
Thank you to everyone who supports Ukraine. Thank you, Steve and Jared, for the intensive communication. Thank you to Ireland for the excellent organization of the European Political Community Summit and for hosting our negotiations today. Glory to Ukraine!
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 12, 2026
Putin Blocks Any Movement on Security, Threatens “Foreign Troops”
In Abu Dhabi, the Russian delegation refused any discussion of a ceasefire on current frontlines — which would block their attempt to seize more Ukrainian territory, including the rest of the Donetsk region in the east of the country — or security guarantees for Kyiv. Instead, they demanded a priority on an undefined “Europe-wide security architecture”.
Meeting the envoys in the Kremlin, Putin went farther. He warned that Western troops in Ukraine, as part of the resolution of Russia’s invasion, would be a “legitimate target” in “the continuation of war”.
He then pushed back Kushner’s declaration of “a big change” on the European side, raising prospects for further talks.
As far as the Europeans are concerned, we have never been opposed to engaging in dialogue with Europe, and we have never broken off that dialogue. It was they who broke off the dialogue with the Russian Federation.
We would very much like you, gentlemen, and the US administration as a whole, to work with your European allies so that they can finally make up their minds as to what they want: peace or war in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Use of Starshield Restricted Again
Meanwhile, Zelensky confirmed that Starshield, the military version of Starlink, had again been restricted to 100 miles per hour.
Last month, Elon Musk’s service was limited for more than a week on the orders of the White House and/or Musk, affecting both Ukraine’s air defenses and its operations on the frontline.
Zelensky posted that the latest restriction “directly affects our ability to intercept Russian jet-powered drones” launched from Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.
He implied that the Trump camp might be restricting Starshield’s operation to protect Russia’s occupation.
We are trying to get the details from the American side, but so far we know very little. But some things are already clear. If someone in America is making decisions that basically treat Ukrainian territory as if it is not Ukrainian, then this tells us where things are going.
We need to be clear and never recognize Russia’s occupation of Ukrainian territory in any way.
