Breakthrough unlikely from Ukraine–Russia peace talks

Detailed summary

Luxon close to securing New Zealand ruling coalition. Pete Hegseth survives impeachment vote. Spy scandal engulfs chipmaker.

Ukraine: Russia and Ukraine held talks in Abu Dhabi this week as part of a new United States bid to end the war that would involve not only addressing territorial claims but wider security arrangements across Europe.

The US has stepped up contact with Ukrainian and Russian officials in recent weeks, proposing to expand the negotiations to address postwar security guarantees. The US was pushing for European officials to be involved in the talks, although Russia insisted on their exclusion.

Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, told reporters on Tuesday: “As for the Europeans’ involvement – well, they flew to Abu Dhabi. Let them sit in a hotel there.”

But the US push to discuss European security arrangements has worried European officials, who believe a deal must first address the war in Ukraine before considering wider issues such as Moscow’s demand for an end to NATO’s military activities in Eastern Europe.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was “happy” with the American approach.

Analysts believe a breakthrough from the two-day talks is unlikely, as Russia wants to await the results of its winter military campaign in Ukraine before considering its position.

According to leaked data from Rosstat, Russia’s statistics agency, the war has killed more than 412,000 Russian soldiers – about 1 per cent of Russian men under the age of 60. The Ukrainian website UA Losses records more than 220,000 Ukrainian soldiers as dead or missing.

New Zealand: Chris Luxon, New Zealand’s prime minister, is expected to form a ruling coalition led by his centre-right National Party after an election last weekend produced no clear winner.

Preliminary results showed the National-led right-wing bloc was set to win 67 seats, while a left-wing bloc led by Labour was set to win 57 seats, and a centrist party, Opportunity, won seven seats.

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