Igor Kostyukov in Moscow, January 29, 2026. MAXIM SHIPENKOV/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN VIA AP
For the second round of Russian-Ukrainian talks, scheduled for Wednesday, February 4 and Thursday, February 5, in Abu Dhabi, Vladimir Putin has given clear instructions. As during the previous meeting on January 23 and 24, the Russian president has placed the leadership of his delegation in the hands of one of his key siloviki, or security service officials: Igor Kostyukov, age 64. Kostyukov has served as director of the GRU, the Russian military intelligence, since 2018 and is the first high-ranking naval officer to lead the organization. In Abu Dhabi, on the Ukrainian side, he will be facing Rustem Umerov, the secretary of the National Defense and Security Council, and Kyrylo Budanov, Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff.
On the eve of the meeting, the Ukrainian president warned: "The work of the negotiators in Abu Dhabi will be adjusted" after the scale of new Russian strikes targeting Ukraine late Monday night, "involving a record number of ballistic missiles." While Washington said it had obtained from Moscow a temporary halt to attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure until February 1, strikes resumed with renewed force on the evening of February 2, with the Ukrainian military reporting 71 missiles and 450 drones launched across eight regions.
