US-led peace talks for Russia and Ukraine will look at security guarantees for both sides

For the first time since February, Russian, Ukrainian and U.S. negotiators are scheduled to hold talks on ending the full-scale war that is nearing the five-year mark, with security guarantee stopping the agenda.

The two-day session starting Tuesday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, follows previous rounds of negotiations early this year that failed to produce any visible progress toward ending Europe’s most devastating conflict since World War II.

The negotiations follow last month's localized truce around the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in southern Ukraine that was brokered with the help of U.S. first lady Melania Trump and allowed the evacuation of some of its residents and the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian supplies.

But even as Moscow and Kyiv touted the weeklong ceasefire as a positive model, fierce fighting has continued along the 1,200-kilometer (about 750-mile) front line. Both sides also have escalated their long-range attacks on each other with drones and missiles.