Zelensky says Russian delegation claimed to control parts of Donbas still held by Ukraine at Abu Dhabi talks

Source: Volodymyr Zelensky

Russia’s delegation at the talks in Abu Dhabi overstated the size of the territory it occupies in Donbas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Citing a report from the Ukrainian delegation, Zelensky said: “the Russians believe and insist they have already occupied half of the Donbas that is actually under our control.”

These were Russian military officers and intelligence officials, and they were saying this in all seriousness. Our team told them: “We don’t understand how you can even say such things. We have videos, photographs, and other evidence showing that these territories are under our control.”

Zelensky said Vladimir Putin “lives in a different reality.” “Of course, he’ll tell the Americans that he needs another month or two to fully occupy eastern Ukraine. I could draw him a picture showing that I’ve completely occupied Russia, too. But that wouldn’t make it true,” the Ukrainian president said.

He said American officials confirmed Ukraine’s assessment of the battlefield situation. “That’s exactly why we need to sit down and talk at the leaders’ level,” Zelensky concluded.

Russia, Ukraine, and the United States held the first day of talks in Abu Dhabi on November 10. As in previous rounds, Putin aide and Russian Military Historical Society head Vladimir Medinsky led the Russian delegation, while Foreign Intelligence Service chief Rustem Umerov led the Ukrainian delegation. Zelensky said at the end of the first day that the trilateral format was “constructive and fairly substantive.”

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io.

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Zelensky says Russian delegation claimed to control parts of Donbas still held by Ukraine at Abu Dhabi talks

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Zelensky says Russian delegation claimed to control parts of Donbas still held by Ukraine at Abu Dhabi talks

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