Negotiators from Russia, Ukraine and the US met in Abu Dhabi for the first trilateral talks since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
But even though the negotiations are taking on a new format, the basic differences remain the same.
The stakes are high, but expectations are limited.
Donald Trump is pushing hard for a peace deal on Ukraine – one he promised but has yet to deliver – and this week said the two sides would be “stupid” if they couldn’t agree.
Despite the intensive shuttle diplomacy conducted by his envoys, they are hosting the first trilateral talks involving Ukrainian and Russian negotiators, and some important issues have not yet been resolved.
Ukraine is getting involved in the process because it wants peace more than anyone, but also because it needs the US to keep it on its side.
It learned that lesson the hard way last year, when Donald Trump briefly suspended intelligence sharing and military aid.
And while negotiations are ongoing, attacks do not stop, especially on Kiev and Kharkov.
Ukraine condemned a new wave of Russian strikes overnight between Friday and Saturday that left one person dead and 23 injured.
"The brutal attack hit not only our people, but also the negotiating table," said Andriy Sibikha, Ukraine's foreign minister.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says his talks with Trump in Davos were "really positive" and that he hopes for greater air defense support against Russia's relentless attacks.
Often frowning after meeting with the American leader, Zelensky seemed unusually optimistic this time.
He remains, however, cautious about the outcome of the talks in the United Arab Emirates.
He described the meetings, which could last two days, as a "step," but avoided calling it positive.
"We have to want it to bring us a little closer to peace," he said.
Zelensky has been saying for some time that he is 90 percent of the way to reaching a framework peace agreement, but the last 10 percent was always the hardest - and Russia could still reject the whole thing.
"Everything revolves around the eastern part of our country. Everything revolves around land. That is an issue that has not yet been resolved," he explained, citing the biggest obstacle that he says still exists.
Russia insists that Ukraine hand over a large part of the eastern region of Donbas, which it failed to conquer on the battlefield.
Ukraine refused.
Politicians often talk about their own red lines, but for this country, the line in Donbass was drawn with the blood of the soldiers who died defending it.
Zelensky can't cross it.
As I write this, the music from another soldier's funeral is coming from the church down the street.
On the way back to Ukraine this time, we passed so many military graves in roadside cemeteries, all marked with flags.
The other big question for discussion in the UAE is what the US would do, militarily, if Russia were to one day attack Ukraine again.
These are what Ukraine calls its own “security guarantees” and says they are necessary.
Zelensky says that an agreement between the US and Ukraine has been concluded, but we don't have the exact details.
Russia's response also remains an open question.
There is also a huge new doubt about how good Donald Trump's guarantees really are.
His obsession with “taking over” Greenland has seriously undermined NATO.
He also undermined the very principle of protecting the country's sovereignty, on which Western support for Ukraine rests.
So can Kiev trust him to come to the rescue in the next crisis?
There aren't many choices for now.
As for trust in Vladimir Putin, no one here is under any illusion that his goals have changed.
"He really doesn't want it," Zelensky said in Davos about Putin and peace.
The Kremlin has said that if it does not get what it wants at the negotiating table, it will “achieve its goals on the battlefield” - although it has so far failed, despite the sacrifice of large numbers of soldiers.
So, once again, it is targeting civilian infrastructure across the country - but in a more deliberate, sustained, and destructive manner than before.
In the midst of the bitter Ukrainian winter, this left people freezing in their homes.
The mayor of Kiev once again called on his fellow citizens to leave if they have somewhere to go.
"The enemy will most likely continue to attack the critical infrastructure of the city and the country," Vitali Klitschko warned.
After repeated attacks, the system is very fragile.
"I address the residents and say honestly: the situation is extremely difficult and this may not be the most difficult moment yet," he said.
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