US-led peace talks for Russia and Ukraine will look at ending war

For the first time since February, Russian, Ukrainian and US negotiators are scheduled to hold talks on ending the full-scale war that is nearing the five-year mark, with security guarantees topping the agenda.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council warned about escalating civilian casualties and attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and Russia, as officials called for urgent de-escalation and diplomatic efforts to end the war.

The two-day talks between Russia and Ukraine starting Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, follows previous rounds of negotiations early this year that failed to produce any visible progress towards ending Europe's most devastating conflict since World War II.

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to pull its troops back from the four regions that Moscow annexed early in the war but never fully captured. He also demands that Ukraine abandon its bid to join NATO, accept strict limits on its military and drop restrictions on the Russian language and the Moscow-affiliated Orthodox Church in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejects Putin's demands to voluntarily cede Ukrainian territory to Russia, but has not been able to agree to limits on the military and other arrangements with Western partners, which it sees as essential security guarantees to stop Russia invading again in the future.

Ukraine argues that an immediate ceasefire is the first step toward negotiating a wider settlement and says a direct meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy is the only way territorial issues can be settled.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council warned about escalating civilian casualties and attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and Russia, as officials called for urgent de-escalation and diplomatic efforts to end the nearly five-year-old war.

Director for Europe and Central Asia, UN Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations KAYOKO GOTOH: "Millions of Ukrainian civilians remain under constant fire as the Russian Federation intensifies attacks on population centres and civilian infrastructure across Ukraine. As such attacks continue to escalate, civilian casualties in Ukraine are reaching record highs. This September, at least 328 civilians were killed and 2,105 injured. This figure is 85 per cent higher than in September last year. Preliminary analysis indicates that the number of civilian casualties in October was just as high as in September. The Secretary-General has also expressed concern over continuing reports of civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure inside the Russian Federation. According to Russian authorities, during the month of September, at least 53 people were killed and 462 injured as a result of Ukrainian strikes in various parts of the Russian Federation."