Three-way talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States on ending the war and possible security guarantees are due to continue in Abu Dhabi on February 1. Ukraine is represented by military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov, while Russia is represented by GRU head Igor Kostyukov, who was given the role of delegation leader in January, replacing Vladimir Medinsky.
On January 29, after Vladimir Putin met UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Kostyukov briefly answered a question about the previous round of consultations in Abu Dhabi. He said the talks had been “constructive” and then added that “everyone understands everything,” without explaining further.
In recent months, the GRU chief has also accompanied Putin at other high-level meetings. He was seen, among other occasions, at talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and with Syrian transitional president Ahmed al-Sharaa. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, explaining Kostyukov’s presence at the meeting with the UAE president, said there had been many topics to discuss.
There is little publicly available information about Kostyukov. He was born on February 21, 1961, received a naval military education, graduated from the Military Diplomatic Academy and then entered service in the GRU. According to Russian media reports and open sources, he took part in managing Russia’s operation in Syria, and in the mid-2000s worked as a military attache at the Russian embassy in Greece. He was appointed head of the GRU in December 2018, and in 2019 he received the rank of admiral.
Kostyukov is under sanctions imposed by the EU, the US, Canada and New Zealand. The European Union linked him to the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal and to the 2015 cyberattack on the Bundestag. Russia has denied involvement in the Salisbury attack. US sanctions were also imposed over allegations of election interference and the cyberattack on Democratic Party servers.
Independent outlets The Insider, Proekt and Metla have reported on the property and business assets of Kostyukov’s children, which journalists say appear inconsistent with their official incomes. British analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News that Moscow is sending military specialists to the talks without authority to speak on politics. Russian political strategists, by contrast, describe Kostyukov’s appointment as a show of strength. Kostyukov himself said on January 29 that the delegation was “always ready” for a new meeting, adding that the Ukrainians were, in his words, in a “gloomy” mood, while the Russian side was in a “good” one.