Russian President Vladimir Putin met with a US delegation in Moscow on the night of January 22 to 23 and agreed to trilateral US, Russian, and Ukrainian working group meetings in Abu Dhabi on January 23 and 24. Russian Presidential Aide Yuriy Ushakov stated that Putin met with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, former Senior Advisor to the US President Jared Kushner, and Josh Gruenbaum, senior advisor to US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace.[1] Ushakov stated that the parties discussed Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Davos, Switzerland, on January 22 and other US meetings with Ukrainian and European delegations in December 2025 and January 2026. Ushakov stated that Putin agreed that Russia will meet with Ukraine and the United States at trilateral working group meetings to discuss security issues in Abu Dhabi on January 23 and 24. Ushakov stated that Russian General Staff’s Main Directorate (GRU) Head Admiral Igor Kostyukov will lead a Russian delegation consisting of representatives of the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) in the trilateral talks.[2] Zelensky reported on January 23 that Ukrainian Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov is leading the Ukrainian delegation, which includes Ukrainian Presidential Office Head Kyrylo Budanov, Ukrainian Servant of the People Party Head Davyd Arakhamia, Advisor to the Ukrainian Presidential Office Head Oleksandr Bevz, First Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office Serhiy Kyslytsya, First Deputy Ukrainian Defense Council Secretary Yevhenyi Ostryanskyi, Ukrainian Chief of the General Staff Major General Andriy Hnatov, Head of Ukraine’s Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) Oleh Ivashchenko, GUR Deputy Head Major General Vadym Skibitskyi, and First Deputy Head of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) Oleksandr Poklad.[3] Ushakov additionally stated that the lead Russian negotiator and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) CEO Kirill Dmitriev and Witkoff will hold bilateral working group meetings on economic issues in Abu Dhabi.[4]
The Kremlin is trying to push Trump to abandon the negotiation process with Ukraine and Europe that he has been leading and to concede to the demands Russia made at the August 2025 US-Russia summit in Alaska. Ushakov stated after Putin’s January 22-23 meeting with the US delegation that “there is no hope” of achieving a long-term settlement to the war without resolving the territorial issue according to the “formula” the United States and Russia allegedly agreed to in Alaska.[5] Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated on January 23 that the Kremlin considers it “inadvisable” to “publicly delve into the details” of the “Anchorage formula” but that Ukraine’s withdrawal of its forces from all of Donbas (Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts) is an important condition for a peace settlement.[6] A source close to the Kremlin told Reuters that the Kremlin considers the “Anchorage formula” to include Ukraine ceding all of Donbas to Russia and freezing the current frontlines elsewhere in southern and eastern Ukraine.[7] Trump has led conversations with Ukraine and Europe in recent weeks that have made significant progress in determining the conditions necessary to ensure an enduring and reliable peace in Ukraine. These US-led talks have notably led to Ukraine making considerable concessions, such as changing Ukrainian laws to allow for elections during the current period of martial law.[8] Trump also worked with Ukraine and Europe to alter the initial US-proposed 28-point peace plan into the latest iteration of the 20-point plan, signaling the administration’s commitment to working with Ukraine and Europe to secure a just end to the war. ISW continues to assess that the Kremlin has been trying to manipulate the lack of publicly available agreements resulting from the Alaska Summit, presenting the alleged US-Russian agreements in ways that benefit Russia.[9] The Kremlin has been using the ambiguity around the summit to try to conceal the way Russia — not Ukraine — has been impeding the negotiations process by maintaining its original war demands. Russia is likely attempting to convince Trump to walk away from US efforts to work with Ukraine and Europe by offering the ambiguous “Alaska formula” as a way to end the war.
The Kremlin is engaged in an informational campaign aimed at Ukraine’s partners that attempts to present control over Donbas as the main issue left to discuss in peace talks, but Russian officials’ statements for domestic audiences have repeatedly confirmed that Russia’s demands go beyond eastern Ukraine. Peskov repeated Kremlin demands for Ukraine’s withdrawal of its forces from all of Donbas on January 23.[10] A Reuters source close to the Kremlin discussed Russian demands about southern and eastern Ukraine, but did not specify Russian demands about Russian-occupied areas in Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts in northern Ukraine.[11] Kremlin officials often reference the “buffer zones” Russian advances have created in Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts, with Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov claiming in December 2025 that Russian advances in and near Kupyansk, Kharkiv Oblast, are necessary to protect Russian-occupied territory in northern Luhansk Oblast.[12] Russian State Duma officials, whose rhetoric largely targets the Russian population and not international audiences, continue to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with any agreement that freezes the current lines in southern Ukraine. Duma Defense Committee Member Andrei Kolesnik, for example, stated on January 23 that Russia needs international and Ukrainian recognition of the “constituent entities” outlined in the Russian Constitution, referring to all of Crimea and Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson oblasts.[13]
Kremlin officials, including Putin, have also recently reiterated Russia’s other demands that are unrelated to Ukrainian territory, namely demands that NATO halt expansion and roll back to its 1997 borders.[14] Russian Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee Chairperson Grigory Karasin stated on January 23 that Russian negotiators in Abu Dhabi have the authority to demand resolutions to the strategic and political issues that Russia outlined at the start of its full-scale invasion — likely including Russia’s 2021 ultimatums to NATO.[15] Putin has repeatedly demonstrated that his demands are greater than those encapsulated in the US-proposed 28-point plan and subsequent US-Ukrainian-European peace plans.[16]
Long-term support for Ukraine’s economy and reconstruction is essential for Ukraine’s security, but it is not a substitute for robust security guarantees that deter future Russian aggression. Zelensky noted on January 23 that Trump supports the idea of a free trade zone in Ukraine, which Zelensky noted will help Ukrainian businesses, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen reported that the EU has almost completed work with the United States and Ukraine on a “prosperity package” for Ukraine’s reconstruction.[17] Politico reported on January 23 that a draft of the prosperity plan outlines a 10-year agreement that includes fast-tracking Ukraine’s EU membership and investments from the US, EU, and international organizations into Ukraine’s recovery.[18]
Economic support for Ukraine will be insufficient to safeguard Ukraine’s future security, however. Ukraine requires reliable security guarantees that credibly and effectively deter future Russian aggression, ensure the strength of the Ukrainian military, and include a strong partner-led reassurance force. Zelensky noted on January 23 that he is ready to sign the main US-Ukrainian security guarantees document that the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada and US Congress will ratify, and von der Leyen reported that the EU is also making progress towards finalizing the security guarantees that the Coalition of the Willing discussed in Paris on January 6.[19] The Kremlin has repeatedly stated that Russia views any security guarantees required to ensure a lasting peace as unacceptable and has repeatedly demanded significant reductions in the Ukrainian military and rejected foreign troop deployments to post-war Ukraine.[20]
Kremlin officials indicated that Russia wants to use its assets frozen in the United States to benefit the Russian economy and offset the cost of Russia’s full-scale invasion — as ISW recently assessed. Ushakov stated after Putin’s January 22-23 meeting with the US delegation that the parties discussed Putin’s proposal to contribute $1 billion to Trump’s Board of Peace from Russian assets currently frozen in the United States.[21] Ushakov reiterated Putin’s other proposal that the remaining funds in the United States go toward reconstructing Ukrainian territories that sustained damage during the war.[22] Peskov clarified on January 23 that Russian assets could help rebuild territory in Donbas, and Zelensky stated that Putin proposed that the funds go towards rebuilding Kursk Oblast.[23] The Kremlin is demanding that Ukraine hand over all of Donbas to Russia, suggesting that the Kremlin hopes to use the frozen assets to rebuild Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, not Ukrainian-held areas. ISW recently assessed that Putin’s initial January 21 proposal to use the frozen funds for reconstruction likely did not include the Ukrainian-held territories that Russian strikes have severely damaged.[24] The use of frozen Russian assets to rebuild Russian-occupied Ukraine or Kursk Oblast would effectively release the funds back to Russia and offset the costs Russia incurred with its2022 invasion of Ukraine. Russian access to additional funds for the reconstruction of occupied Ukraine would allow Russia to maximize its economic exploitation of Ukrainian territories, thereby funneling profits back into the Russian economy and supporting Russian efforts to forcibly integrate occupied Ukraine into Russia.
Key Takeaways
- Russian President Vladimir Putin met with a US delegation in Moscow on the night of January 22 to 23 and agreed to trilateral US, Russian, and Ukrainian working group meetings in Abu Dhabi on January 23 and 24.
- The Kremlin is trying to push Trump to abandon the negotiation process with Ukraine and Europe that he has been leading and to concede to the demands Russia made at the August 2025 US-Russia summit in Alaska.
- The Kremlin is engaged in an informational campaign aimed at Ukraine’s partners that attempts to present control over Donbas as the main issue left to discuss in peace talks, but Russian officials’ statements for domestic audiences have repeatedly confirmed that Russia’s demands go beyond eastern Ukraine.
- Long-term support for Ukraine’s economy and reconstruction is essential for Ukraine’s security, but is not a substitute for robust security guarantees that deter future Russian aggression.
- Kremlin officials indicated that Russia wants to use its assets frozen in the United States to benefit the Russian economy and offset the cost of Russia’s full-scale invasion, as ISW recently assessed.
- The Kremlin is likely preparing to carefully manage the succession plan for Chechen Republic Head Ramzan Kadyrov in order to avoid a tumultuous transfer of power that may result in unrest in Chechnya and divert Chechen resources from the war in Ukraine.
- Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov appointed Serhiy Sternenko to advise the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense (MoD) on scaling up the use of drones on the front.
- Russian forces recently advanced near Slovyansk and Novopavlivka.