Russia rejected a pause in Ukraine’s war at the U.N. Security Council on Nov. 9, as Kyiv said talks with Moscow and Washington were expected in Abu Dhabi amid rising civilian casualties.
Russia’s U.N. ambassador Vasily Nebenzya told the council Moscow would not accept a halt in fighting. “We will not consent to freezing the conflict,” he said. Nebenzya argued a pause would give Kyiv time to regroup, rearm and replenish its military capabilities.
He said a settlement should address what Moscow describes as strategic threats from the West, alleged violations of Russian speakers’ rights and the spread of what it calls neo-Nazi ideology. The list reflects the Russian government’s rationale for its position.
Ukraine’s U.N. ambassador Andrii Melnyk said a political breakthrough was unlikely without a leaders’ meeting. He said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was prepared to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as December, potentially at the G20 summit in Florida or elsewhere outside Moscow. Melnyk’s remarks described a proposal, not an agreed summit.
U.N. speakers cited a localized ceasefire around Oleshky as an example of a pause that let aid reach the area and residents leave.
Kayoko Gotoh, director of the Europe and Central Asia Division at the U.N. Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Department of Peace Operations, reiterated the U.N. Secretary-General’s call for an immediate ceasefire without conditions. The U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine verified at least 328 civilians killed and 2,105 injured in September 2026, 85% more casualties than in September 2025. It identified long-range weapons as the leading cause of civilian casualties that month.
Zelenskyy’s office said the Ukraine-Russia-U.S. team format was expected to resume in Abu Dhabi Nov. 10-11 to prepare for a possible meeting of the leaders. EconoTimes previously covered Kyiv’s preparations for a technical session in Abu Dhabi.
