Trilateral talks began on Friday in Abu Dhabi, UAE, mediated by the United States, to end the Russia-Ukraine war that has been going on for the past four years.

The two-day talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives on a US-sponsored resolution to end the conflict will last for two days, the UAE Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday. The talks are the first since the war began. Ukraine has included National Security Council chief Rustam Umarov, chief of the General Staff Andriy Hrynatov and head of the presidential administration Kirill Budanov in the talks. The Russian team includes President Vladimir Putin's adviser Yuri Ushakov and military officer Admiral Igor Kostyukov, as well as senior security officials. The US has also sent a team including President Donald Trump's envoy Steven Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law/advisor Jared Kushner. The first day of talks on Friday is said to focus on the border dispute. Russia has demanded that Ukrainian troops withdraw from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, accepting the new borders and new realities created after the war. Similarly, Russia has demanded that Ukraine express a commitment that it will never become a member of NATO in the future. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that handing over its territory is unacceptable to Ukraine. He has pointed out that the support of Western countries, especially the United States, will be necessary if Russia attacks in the future. For this, he demands that its Western allies provide security guarantees.

Russia's state news agency TASS reported that there were no concrete achievements on the first day. Meanwhile, citing officials participating in the talks, the American media outlet NBC News reported that the discussions are progressing. The Donbas region at the center of the dispute

The ongoing talks in the UAE have reached a deadlock over the Donbas

region. Russia has been waging a military intervention here since 2014 and in 2022, it declared war on the region.

This region on the Sea of ​​Azov includes two of Ukraine's 24 oblasts (provinces) (Donetsk and Luhansk).

About 75 percent of Donetsk and about 70 percent of Luhansk are Russian-speaking. The region is characterized by its coal reserves, fertile arable land, and mineral deposits. It produces large quantities of wheat, rice, sunflowers, and corn. This has made Ukraine one of the largest global exporters of food.

In the 20th century, the region was home to a large number of Ukrainian industries. The region was known for its steel production. Russia now controls about 80 to 90 percent of the territory. Russia has demanded the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the remaining territory during peace talks. Ukraine became independent in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been undermining Ukraine's right to exist as an independent nation. He has repeatedly claimed that Ukraine and the Ukrainian people have been part of Russia since ancient times. He has also accused Russian speakers of ethnic cleansing in Ukraine. However, he has not been able to provide any evidence for this. Under Putin's direction, Russian troops occupied Crimea, the Ukrainian territory south of Donbas, in early 2014. Then a 'fake referendum' was held here and it was

merged with Russia .  Immediately after that, Russia also launched a military intervention in Donetsk and Luhansk. 

On May 7, 2014,  Donetsk declared the 'People's Republic of Donetsk', claiming to have seceded from Ukraine.  Five days later, the 'People's Republic of Luhansk' was declared.  Since all these actions were at the behest of Russia, Ukraine and the rest of the world did not recognize it. 

Russian President Putin recognized the People's Republic of Donetsk and the People's Republic of Luhansk as independent countries in 2022 and claimed that the Russian army was mobilized to defend them. 

With this claim, the Russia-Ukraine war began.  Thus, Putin has been continuously trying to take these two regions for the past 12 years. 

However, despite the large number of Russian soldiers who have lost their lives, Moscow has not yet fully taken control of the Donbass region. So far, Russia controls almost all of Luhansk and only about 70 percent of Donetsk.

The Russian military is fighting Ukraine to get ahead of it. Putin has said that if Ukraine does not leave these territories, Russia will use military force to seize them.

However, the human toll is mounting. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte claimed last week that 20,000 to 25,000 Russian soldiers are losing their lives in the region every month. However, Russia has not made these details public. The region is also strategically important. The port of Mariupol here provides access to the Black Sea. Russia is also emotionally connected to this region because of the majority of the Russian-speaking population here. What does Ukraine want?

Ukraine has said that handing over its territory is impossible. However, one of the various plans put forward by the US was that the future of the region could be determined through a referendum.

‘It is unlikely that Ukrainians will vote to hand over their territory, but even if they do, the move would be contrary to international law. The law prohibits the use of force to seize the territory of another state,’ wrote the American media outlet CNN.

The proposal for the current peace talks has not been fully made public. However, last December, the US proposed that a free economic zone could be developed in the Donbass region, which remains under Ukrainian control.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had said that such a proposal could be accepted if security in Ukraine is guaranteed. However, it is not clear whether Russia will accept this proposal.

In recent months, Russia has been continuously carrying out missile and drone attacks on areas including the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. Many areas in Ukraine are in darkness due to damage to power plants and power transmission lines. The cold has made life difficult.

Attacks during talks

Despite sitting at the negotiating table, Russia has not stopped attacking Ukraine. On Saturday, Russia carried out drone and missile attacks on various cities. One person was killed and four others were injured in a Russian attack in Kiev at midnight.