Russia sent a delegation made up only of military personnel to the trilateral peace negotiations in Abu Dhabi. What team did Ukraine choose for the discussions?

The Russian delegation sent by the Kremlin for peace talks in Abu Dhabi with Ukraine and the USA is composed exclusively of representatives from the Ministry of Defense and will be led by Admiral Igor Kostiukov, the head of the Russian military intelligence agency GRU.

The Ukrainian delegation will be led by Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov, who will participate alongside Zelensky's chief of staff, Kirilo Budanov, negotiator David Arakhamia, and the Chief of the General Staff, Andrii Hnatov, according to CNN.

Zelensky added that he asked the head of military intelligence (GUR) to send his deputy, Major General Vadim Skibitsky, so that both military representatives and intelligence service representatives would be present.

This is the first known meeting between the three parties since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022. Dmitri Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, mentioned that discussions will continue, if necessary, on Saturday. The Russian delegation received direct instructions from President Vladimir Putin, and Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's special envoy, will hold separate discussions with American envoy Steve Witkoff. Peskov emphasized that Russia considers the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donbas an essential condition for negotiations.