Zelensky Says Kyiv Gave US Realistic Peace Proposals Ahead of Abu Dhabi Talks

Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that Kyiv has handed the United States what he called realistic proposals for a peace agreement, timed to land just before three-way talks in Abu Dhabi. In a post on X, the Ukrainian president thanked the leaders of the Nordic-Baltic Eight for standing with Ukraine. He also walked them through the country's energy and air defense needs with another wartime winter bearing down.

Plenty of groundwork went into the Abu Dhabi meeting, Zelensky said, pointing to a NATO gathering in Brussels and his own contacts with US envoys. Then he drew a line: the European Union has to be part of any agreement, because every European nation equally deserves guaranteed security.

The EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, is pushing the same message from Warsaw. Speaking at a Council of the Baltic Sea States ministerial meeting, she said any Russia-Ukraine peace deal must include the EU in order to actually be implemented. She warned of a punishing winter ahead, claiming Moscow will target power stations, and announced the bloc is adding €4.36 billion under its support loan for Ukraine — while admitting more is needed. The EU is not a mediator, she stressed, but firmly on Ukraine's side.

The diplomatic flurry comes after President Donald Trump, speaking at the White House on Thursday following a meeting with Vladimir Putin's envoy Kirill Dmitriev, said a deal to end the war was very close. Trump predicted a big agreement that would stretch beyond Ukraine and could pull in all of Europe. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday that Moscow has specific information about the plan — but when pressed for details, his answer was flat: No, there are no details.

Zelensky separately said Friday that Ukraine is scrambling to restore energy supplies after recent Russian strikes on infrastructure. The situation is worst in Kyiv, he said, where people and businesses are dealing with prolonged power and water outages and the challenges are extremely serious. The government is sending additional resources to help.

On the security front, Russia's Federal Security Service said it arrested a Moscow resident accused of passing information to what it called Ukrainian terrorists. According to the FSB, the detainee belonged to a banned terrorist organization, reached out online to a Ukrainian paramilitary group and volunteered as a member. Communication devices were seized, and he faces up to twenty years in prison.