Ukraine, Kiev-Moscow-US trilateral. Zelensky: 'Trump will give us patriots'

The rumours about the reconstruction plan come on the day when the first trilateral talks on the war in Ukraine between Ukraine itself, Russia and the USA began.

Jared Jushner and Steve Witkoff, arrived in Abu Dhabi directly from Moscow to represent the United States. After four hours of talks with Vladimir Putin on Thursday 23 January, the two travelled from Moscow to the capital of the Emirates. Also with them was U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. And an unannounced fourth person: Josh Gruenbaum, a 40-year-old lawyer experienced in investments, complex corporate restructuring, mergers and acquisitions. For Donald Trump, he is also a wizard of impossible negotiations. Although not a career diplomat, he was already involved in informal contacts last autumn with the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriev, in Miami. His presence in Moscow indicates a move to a more official level. Last month, Gruenbaum participated in a video conference on security guarantees for Kiev with Witkoff, Kushner, Grynkewich, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth. More recently he took part in the 'willing ones' meeting in Paris. But his palmares include more than just Ukraine. In a November photo, Gruenbaum sits in an armchair during a meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, Witkoff and others to discuss Trump's peace plan for Gaza. In July, he came under the spotlight for asking the Department of Defence, NASA and six other federal agencies to compile a detailed report on contracts with Elon Musk's SpaceX to be shared with the White House.

The Ukraine sent National Security Adviser, Rustem Umerov, and Volodymir Zelensky's cabinet chief, Kirylo Budanov, negotiator David Arakhamia and Chief of Staff, Andrii Hnatov, and diplomatic adviser Serhii Kyslytsia.

The Moscow delegation, on the other hand, is led by director of the Crane (military intelligence) Igor Kostyukov, the director of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, and Kremlin foreign investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who will meet with Witkoff separately, on the sidelines of the negotiation session.

The negotiations began on Friday morning in Italy and will resume on Saturday 24 January 2026, according to various agencies. The United Arab Emirates itself confirmed that the trilateral talks are ongoing: 'Talks began today in Abu Dhabi and are expected to continue for two days, as part of ongoing efforts to promote dialogue and identify political solutions to the crisis,' said Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, deputy prime minister and foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates.

When asked about this, the Russian president's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, instead left reporters in suspense. "No, I don't have any information, I don't know," he replied to those asking for confirmation regarding the start of the informal meetings in Abu Dhabi. The start of the talks was also reconfirmed on Friday afternoon by Ukrainian sources. It is not clear, however, whether the Russian and Ukrainian delegations are meeting directly, in the same room, or whether they are meeting individually with the US negotiators engaged in mediation.

Volodymyr Zelensky made it known that he held consultations with the Ukrainian negotiating team before the start of the trilateral "I spoke with the head of the delegation, Umerov," the Ukrainian president said. "The whole team was on speakerphone: we talked to everyone. Everyone understands what needs to be done, he says. His team is empowered to "choose the most suitable formats for the field talks, because it is going into uncharted territory, Zelensky said. "Such a format is occurring for the first time in a long time," he acknowledged. Although Zelensky will not be present, he will be "in constant contact" with the team, he added.

At the end of the first day of negotiations, the Ukrainian president released a message via Telegram: 'It is still too too early to draw conclusions. We will see how the talks go tomorrow and what the results will be. It is necessary that not only Ukraine desires to end this war and achieve full security,' Zelensky said, 'but that a similar desire also arises in Russia in some way'.

Territorial control in eastern Ukraine will be the main issue discussed in Abu Dhabi, according to Zelensky.

To put an end to the conflictthe Ukrainian army must leave the Donbass. This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by Russian media. Peskov also proposed to unfreeze Russian assets frozen in the US and use themfor the reconstruction of the Donbass. The funding - in addition to the $1 billion allocated for support to the Palestinians through the Board of Peace - "can also be used for the reconstruction of the territories damaged by the fighting," Putin's spokesman said.

The agreement on security guarantees for Ukraine is ready for signing. This was stated by Volodymyr Zelensky at a press conference.

"Our security guarantees are indeed ready. And the treaty is ready to be signed,' the Ukrinform news agency reported, quoting Zelensky.

After Zelensky's speech in Davos on Thursday 22 January - during which the Ukrainian president accused Europe of being 'abeautiful but fragmented kaleidoscope of small and medium-sized powers' instead of a true global power - Brussels responded by confirming its full support for Kiev and recalling what has been done so far: 'We reaffirm our full commitment and support for Ukraine from day one and on an ongoing basis, together with the member states. We are the main supporters, having already provided almost EUR 200 billion so far. This was said by a European Commission spokeswoman during the daily press briefing. Asked about the hypothesis of a European army, revived by Zelensky in Davos, Brussels points out that it has so far integrated Kiev 'into defence programmes, such as Safe and Edip, enabling it to carry out joint procurements with member states and allowing its industry to invest together with European industry'.

A support that was also reiterated by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni - who said she was "sorry" for Zelensky's words - and by the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Friedrich Merz, on the occasion of the Italy-Germany intergovernmental summit underway at Villa Doria Pamphilj in Rome. The two signed a 'Protocol on a German-Italian Action Plan for bilateral and EU strategic cooperation' in which they affirm that 'we will closely coordinate our current efforts in response to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, including on sanctions, support for Ukraine's resilience and reconstruction, and initiatives aimed at achieving a just peace, as well as on support for the implementation of the US Plan to end the conflict in Gaza, with the aim of alleviating the suffering of the civilian population and paving the way for a two-state solution'.

"As the fourth anniversary of the invasion" of Ukraine approaches, "we understand and share Zelensky's frustration at the continuation of this barbaric war" echoes Downing Street. "The UK has always acted decisively towards Ukraine, including leading the Coalition of the Willing. It has also allocated £1.2 billion in bilateral and humanitarian aid. While diplomacy continues, we stand by Ukraine to ensure its defence,' said a spokesman for Keir Starmer. Asked whether the British Prime Minister thinks Europe should do more, the spokesman said: 'The Prime Minister is clear on a broader point: Europe must step up its defence and security efforts. The key player is Putin, who could end the war immediately'.

A new ministerial meeting of the G7+ Group on the Ukrainian energy emergency also took place on Friday, 23 January, in light of the intensification of Russian attacks targeting energy infrastructures and the dramatic humanitarian situation, which threatens to cause an exodus of the population from the capital and the most vulnerable regions. On behalf of Italy," the Farnesina reported in a note, "Undersecretary of State Giorgio Silli participated by proxy of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister Antonio Tajani. Co-chaired by the European Commission and the French presidency of the G7, with the participation of Ukraine's prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, the meeting provided an opportunity to receive an update from Kiev on the state of Ukraine's energy infrastructure, to discuss the immediate needs for the current winter, and to encourage a sharing by the partner countries of the initiatives taken to respond to Ukraine's pressing requests for assistance. In his speech, Silli reiterated the importance of continued donor support - with Italy in the forefront - at a particularly critical time for Kiev. The first pieces of equipment (boilers and generators) provided by Italy have been delivered to Ukraine to deal with the ongoing emergency. This will be followed in the next few days by further transports of generators and materials as part of a package worth 100 million euros, in addition to the supplies donated by Italian companies that responded to the Ukrainian government's request for support coordinated by the Farnesina through the Civil Protection Department.

Russian forces launched 101 drones, 60 of them Shahed type, between 7pm yesterday and 10am this morning 23 January (Kiev time). This was reported by the Ukrainian Air Force.

According to the air force, 76 drones were intercepted or diverted by electronic jamming. Nineteen drones escaped the air defence and hit 12 sites, the air force indicated, adding that the bombing continues and that several drones are still in Ukrainian airspace.

A Russian drone attack overnight in eastern Ukraine killed four people, including a child, regional authorities in Donetsk announced today. The attack hit the town of Cherkaske, said Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk regional military administration, on Telegram. According to the Donetsk regional prosecutor's office, the attack killed a 32-year-old man, his five-year-old son and two of their neighbours. The five wounded, including the mother of the slain child, suffered trauma and burns.

The governor of the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, Oleh Syniehubov, later stated that Russian troops had hit a car with a drone, killing three civilians and wounding four others, the online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda reported. "The Russian army carried out a drone attack on a civilian vehicle near the village of Prudianka, Kharkiv district. Two people were killed in the enemy attack,' said Syniehubov, who later announced that the death toll had further worsened due to the death of one of the injured persons.