Ukraine Prisoner Exchange Agreed

The Abu Dhabi corniche skyline seen across the water in a June 2021 file photo, the city where a prisoner exchange was agreed at Ukraine talks — The Abu Dhabi skyline, seen from the water, in June 2021 (file photo). Two days of U.S.-mediated talks among the United States, Ukraine and Russia ended in the city on Wednesday. Photo: Asima Bibi, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Russia and Ukraine agreed to a large prisoner exchange as two days of U.S.-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi ended Wednesday without a breakthrough on ending the war in Ukraine. The second session lasted a little less than two hours, RFE/RL reported, after a first day that ran about four hours. U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, a Trump administration adviser and the president’s son-in-law, said they would fly to Moscow on Thursday to meet President Vladimir Putin, then to Dublin to brief President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Both Moscow and Kyiv confirmed that a large-scale prisoner of war exchange was in the works and could be carried out soon, the BBC reported. The size, timing, and categories of people to be swapped were not announced. Kushner told reporters he hoped to “finalise the humanitarian relief” and “the biggest humanitarian release of prisoners” in Thursday’s meeting with Putin, The Guardian reported.

Day 2 lasted under two hours | A large-scale prisoner exchange agreed in principle | Envoys go to Moscow, then Dublin on Thursday | Kushner: “no trust” between the sides

What was agreed, and what was not

Vladimir Medinsky, Russia’s chief negotiator and a Kremlin aide, told Russian journalists in Abu Dhabi that the sides had “reached an agreement in principle on a new large-scale prisoner exchange. The specific details will be announced in the near future,” RFE/RL reported. In remarks also broadcast on Russian state television, Unverified claim, Russian state television (Russian state media) he said mutual understanding had been reached on some issues and that more talks would be held, The Guardian reported, citing Reuters.

Zelenskyy, who was not in the room, posted after a briefing on the talks that “there is an important humanitarian arrangement regarding preparations for a new exchange,” The Guardian reported. He listed three points: the humanitarian arrangement; a discussion of “views on guaranteeing security,” with the first step being “ending this war and providing security guarantees for Ukraine”; and “broader formats for further work involving the Europeans.” “Ukraine’s priority is to end the war as soon as possible with a dignified peace,” he wrote. “We believe that Europe must be represented at every stage of real diplomacy.”

There was no public agreement on territory, a ceasefire, or a new European security framework. The BBC reported that the American side said it saw “some openings,” but that there was “no hint of any breakthroughs” to end the nearly five-year-old full-scale war. Kushner called the meetings “very substantive,” even if “pretty tough … after almost eight months of not being together,” The Guardian reported. ABC News quoted him calling the talks a “positive step.”

Envoys head to Moscow, then Dublin

Kushner said he and Witkoff would meet Putin on Thursday to “go over what was discussed today and try to make progress on some of the issues that we discussed,” then fly to Dublin to “debrief with” Zelenskyy “and further explore some of the ideas that we came up with today.” Zelenskyy will be in the Irish capital for a European Political Community summit, The Guardian reported. He said separately that he would meet the U.S. envoys there on Thursday.

Kushner also said he thought “it would be great” for Zelenskyy and Putin to meet in person, but that “the Russians have said they would like to see more progress made before that happens.” “Clearly, there’s not great trust or love between the leaders,” he said, according to The Guardian. “The reality is there is no trust right now between the sides and that is to be expected after a conflict like this,” he added, in remarks also reported by the BBC.

Davyd Arakhamia, a member of Ukraine’s negotiating team and the leader of Zelenskyy’s parliamentary faction, said the round — the first since February — “was one of the hardest.” “I believe the Russians came with very strict directives, so it was extremely difficult to soften the discussion,” he told the BBC. He also said he felt “good momentum” and urged that a second round be organized as soon as possible. The Guardian reported that he hoped to keep that momentum with a view to reaching a solution by the end of the year.

Territory remains the hardest issue

Kushner said the key issues were “postwar security” and “security guarantees,” as well as “deconfliction” and monitoring any future ceasefire, but that “the territorial issues … will be the hardest.” Any peacetime security framework, he said, is contingent on the war ending, and that cannot occur “until there’s an agreement on territory and on all other bilateral issues,” the BBC reported.

The core territorial obstacle remains Donetsk, which is mostly occupied by Russia. Moscow has demanded that Ukraine give up the parts of the region it still holds; Kyiv wants to freeze the contact line. Kyrylo Budanov, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff and a negotiator, refused to be drawn on whether Russia was still demanding a Ukrainian withdrawal from the region, the BBC reported. “These deals are very hard and complex, and this one is very emotional, very complex,” Kushner said.

In further comments to Russia’s Vesti news, Unverified claim, Vesti (Russian state media) Medinsky said there was “no possibility” of territorial exchanges. “After Ukraine’s invasion of the Kursk region, a decision was made – the president has spoken about this repeatedly – to create a security zone along the border with Russia. This zone is now quite substantial, it is expanding, and will continue to expand. I see no possibility of exchanging these territories,” he said, according to The Guardian. Those remarks were not independently confirmed as official negotiating terms, and they should be read as the Russian delegation’s public position.

The sides also remain split on sequencing. Europeans and Kyiv want a ceasefire before talks on a future security framework; the Kremlin has insisted that the fighting stops only after an agreement is reached, the BBC reported. Asked by Denmark’s national broadcaster on Tuesday whether Putin was serious about a deal, Zelenskyy said that if Putin rejects a ceasefire and demands a “long plan” first, “it simply means he doesn’t want to stop the war,” ABC News reported.

Europe wants a seat, and Moscow is unconvinced

Kushner said Washington wanted to “get the Europeans added to the format so that we can make this a multilateral format,” and that he hoped Putin would “give his blessing” to expanding the format during the Moscow meeting. Britain, NATO, and several European Union countries had representatives in Abu Dhabi who met U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators, but those consultations were separate from the trilateral sessions with Russia, RFE/RL and the BBC reported. A German government spokesperson said Wednesday that agreements cannot be implemented “if no consensus can be reached among Nato members.”

Medinsky was cool on European participation. “We do not really understand what there is to discuss with them,” he told reporters, according to ABC News. “We have not received a single peace initiative or a single concrete peace proposal from European countries, so it is unclear what there is to discuss. When they come up with some concrete proposals, then we’ll give those proposals some thought.”

A German government spokesperson, asked whether Chancellor Friedrich Merz was ready to speak with Putin, said an understanding had been reached in Abu Dhabi on “broad outlines” and that “on that basis, talks may ensue,” The Guardian reported, citing Reuters. The spokesperson said that understanding was reached among European, U.S., and Ukrainian officials, not with Russia.

The two-day round opened Tuesday as the first trilateral meeting since February. The public result on Wednesday was narrower than a peace framework: a prisoner exchange agreed in principle, follow-up visits to Moscow and Dublin, and an open argument over territory, sequencing, and who else belongs in the room.

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Russia and Ukraine Agree to a Large Prisoner Exchange as Abu Dhabi Talks End Without a Breakthrough