The Kremlin is positively assessing the start of direct talks between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia in Abu Dhabi. The work of expert groups within the negotiations will continue, Russian media report,

Negotiators from Russia, Ukraine and the United States are due to meet in Abu Dhabi for the second day of negotiations on a plan being pushed by US President Donald Trump to end the almost four-year-long war.

Controversy has erupted over four Russian athletes competing as neutrals at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, as their past support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has come to light. On the 5th, the British BBC reported that Petr Gumenyuk,