EU, Russia differ over European participation in upcoming Ukraine talks

The European Union will participate in this week's Ukraine peace talks in Abu Dhabi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday, while the Kremlin insisted that the negotiations would be joined by Russia, Ukraine and the United States, without European officials.

Von der Leyen said she had a "good call" with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of the talks, adding that the EU would be present alongside its partners. Zelensky said on social media X that the two had coordinated their positions ahead of the meeting and were working to "ensure that the trilateral format delivered results."

However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that the talks, scheduled for November 10-11, would involve only Russian, Ukrainian and US delegations. He noted that Ukraine and the United States each had separate channels of communication with European counterparts, according to Reuters.

Von der Leyen also reiterated support for Zelensky's call for a ceasefire covering food and energy infrastructure, and said "freedom of navigation in the Black Sea must be restored and preserved" amid growing security threats in the region.

The Abu Dhabi talks, to be mediated by the United States, are expected to focus on ending the conflict, post-war security arrangements and de-escalation.

Meanwhile, hostilities continued on the ground. The Russian Defense Ministry said Monday that its forces had struck a facility assembling and storing long-range Ukrainian drones, several power substations and a cargo ship carrying weapons and military equipment for Ukrainian forces in the Black Sea.

The ministry also said Russian air defense systems had intercepted and destroyed 430 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones over Russian regions overnight. In the Leningrad region, 113 drones were shot down, while some debris struck buildings and an industrial zone, regional governor Alexander Drozdenko said. No casualties were reported.