Russia and Ukraine agree in principle to large prisoner exchange as Abu Dhabi talks end without breakthrough
Kushner and Steve Witkoff fly to Moscow on Thursday to meet Vladimir Putin, then on to Dublin to see Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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Russia and Ukraine have agreed in principle to a large prisoner exchange, with both sides confirming the plan on Wednesday as two days of US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi ended, the Associated Press reported. The Russia Ukraine prisoner exchange is the only concrete result of the talks, which closed with no breakthrough on the central issues.
What the Russia Ukraine prisoner exchange covers
US envoy Jared Kushner announced the deal after the talks. “One of the positives is we agreed that we’re going to have the biggest humanitarian release of prisoners, which we’re going to finalise the numbers tomorrow,” he said, according to Euronews. Final numbers are due on Thursday.
Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov and Russia’s Vladimir Medinsky confirmed the plan. Neither gave a date or a scale. Medinsky described the agreement as being “in principle”, the AP said.
Key numbers
- Two days of talks in Abu Dhabi, ending on Wednesday, per AP via CP24.
- 1,000 prisoners from each side was the figure under discussion on Tuesday, said Zelenskyy, potentially rising to 1,500 each, per Euronews.
- Nine months: the gap since the last direct Kyiv and Moscow talks, held in Geneva in February, per Euronews.
- Nearly five years: the age of Russia’s full-scale invasion, per AP.
What Jared Kushner and the delegations said
Zelenskyy, who was not in the room, called the first day “constructive and quite substantive”, the BBC reported. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking from Paris, called the meeting “very productive”.
Medinsky said the talks helped Moscow and Kyiv edge closer to peace. Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov described them as “substantive and quite useful”, according to AP.
Asked by Euronews about a Putin and Zelenskyy meeting, Kushner said “we are pushing a boulder uphill”.
What happens next after the Abu Dhabi talks
Kushner said he and US envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow on Thursday to meet President Vladimir Putin, then fly to Dublin to meet Zelenskyy, AP reported. Russia opposed European officials sitting in the talks, though Kyiv’s delegation was due to meet European, EU and NATO representatives separately. The prisoner swap numbers and timing are the next detail to watch.
A prisoner swap is the only concrete result of the first direct Kyiv and Moscow talks in nine months, so it is the clearest test of whether US-led mediation can move beyond the central disputes. The Thursday meetings with Putin and Zelenskyy will show whether a second round follows.