U.S. and Russia Restart Military Talks Amid Ongoing Ukraine Conflict/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ The U.S. and Russia have agreed to resume high-level military-to-military communications for the first time since 2021. The announcement follows peace discussions in Abu Dhabi involving U.S., Russian, and Ukrainian officials. The move comes amid intensified Russian attacks and rising Ukrainian casualties.
U.S.–Russia Military Dialogue Resumes: Quick Looks
- U.S. and Russia agree to restore suspended military communication channels
- Talks held in Abu Dhabi with U.S., Russian, Ukrainian, and NATO representatives
- High-level military contact had been frozen since before Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine
- Russia escalates drone and missile strikes on Ukraine’s energy grid during talks
- Ukrainian President Zelenskyy reveals 55,000 Ukrainian troops have died
- U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner participated in the negotiations
- Human Rights Watch cites 31% rise in Ukrainian civilian casualties in 2025
- Two people injured in Kyiv during latest Russian drone attacks
Deep Look: U.S. and Russia Restart Military Talks Amid Ongoing Ukraine Conflict
KYIV, Ukraine — In a rare development since the onset of the war in Ukraine, the United States and Russia agreed on Thursday to restore direct military-to-military communications, according to U.S. European Command. The breakthrough came during high-level talks in Abu Dhabi as representatives from the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia met to explore possible pathways to peace.
General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe and head of U.S. European Command, met with both Russian and Ukrainian military officials during the closed-door discussions. In a statement, U.S. officials said the reestablished channel “will provide consistent military-to-military contact as the parties continue to work towards a lasting peace.”
This marks the first formal military dialogue between the U.S. and Russia since late 2021, just prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.
The renewed diplomatic momentum came as Moscow simultaneously escalated its military campaign, launching aggressive new attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Russia fired 183 drones and two ballistic missiles at Ukrainian territory overnight. Ukrainian officials reported that 95 drones were intercepted by Russian air defenses, primarily over Crimea and regions near the Azov Sea.
In Kyiv, at least two people were injured during the barrage, with a man in the greater region suffering a chest wound from shrapnel, according to city and regional authorities.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking in an interview with French network France 2, revealed that 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died since the war began. That figure reflects an increase from the 46,000 battlefield deaths he cited in early 2025. He also noted a large number of missing Ukrainians.
Delegations from all three countries reconvened Thursday for a second day of talks in Abu Dhabi, joined once again by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump. Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council chief Rustem Umerov confirmed their presence and said they are working toward a framework that addresses both territorial disputes and long-term security guarantees.
Though no concrete outcomes were announced, the symbolic return to military dialogue between Washington and Moscow could help prevent miscalculations and reduce battlefield risks, particularly as Russian aggression shows no signs of waning.
Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukrainians must see genuine progress toward peace. “This can’t be a situation where Russians take advantage of the talks and continue their strikes,” he said on social media Wednesday evening.
Zelenskyy has long demanded concrete security guarantees from the West, particularly from the U.S. and NATO allies, to deter future Russian incursions post-conflict.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch reported a 31% increase in civilian casualties in Ukraine during 2025. According to the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission, nearly 15,000 Ukrainian civilians have died and more than 40,000 have been injured since the war began.
In a sign of continued Western support, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk visited Kyiv on Thursday for official discussions with Ukrainian leaders.
Despite peace efforts, the toll on civilians and soldiers continues to mount as both diplomatic and military tracks move forward in parallel. Whether renewed dialogue will yield substantive change remains uncertain—but it marks a notable shift in tone from the near-total breakdown in U.S.–Russia communications since the war’s early days.
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