State wires moved from anticipation to live coverage as the closed Russia-U.S.-Ukraine working session opened in Abu Dhabi around 10:50 Moscow time, stressing secrecy and naming Medinsky's delegation including two FSB generals.
Agenda-setting dominated leaks: Russian outlets framed Ukraine as only one aspect of wider European security and arms-control talks, while exile outlets citing Reuters, The Economist and FT reported U.S. ideas on redrawing Donetsk-Luhansk borders, NATO-style guarantees and revisiting European security after the war.
After a midday break the session ran over four hours and closed without Russian readout; only Secretary Rubio's 'very productive' assessment and a brief Zelensky response were carried. Parallel coverage kept up battlefield claims of strikes on Ukrainian energy and Ukrainian attacks on Sevastopol and a Novgorod plant, plus Lavrov's ultimatum rhetoric toward von der Leyen, Merz's EU budget veto threat, and Putin's meeting with Lukashenko ahead of the CSTO summit.