Russia and Ukraine agreed to a large exchange of prisoners of war, both sides said Wednesday as two days of U.S.-mediated talks concluded with no major breakthrough on ending Moscow’s nearly five-year-old full-scale invasion.
Hopes had been low for any significant development in the first meeting in nine months between the delegations. Russia and Ukraine have from time to time swapped POWs but have remained far apart in their demands for accepting a peace settlement.
U.S. officials say they are determined to revive Washington’s peace efforts that so far have failed to deliver significant results.
Along with postwar security guarantees for both countries, other key hurdles are the fate of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory and what role European countries will play in an eventual settlement.
The sides last met in February on Russia’s invasion, which analysts and humanitarian organizations say has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and thousands of civilians.
The talks lasted just under two hours Wednesday, after a four-hour session the previous day.
“One of the positives is we agreed that we’re going to have the biggest humanitarian release of prisoners, which we’re going to finalize the numbers tomorrow,” said Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, after the Abu Dhabi talks ended.
Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation, and Rustem Umerov, who led Kyiv’s contingent, confirmed the planned POW exchange, although Medinsky noted the agreement was “in principle.”
Alexander Zorin, a deputy chief of the General Staff’s information department who attended the talks, told Russian state TV it would be one of the biggest such swaps since 1,000 soldiers from each side returned home last year.
The latest exchange could take place in the next two or three weeks, he said.
Ukraine and Russia prepare to meet even as attacks continue
Kushner said he and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow on Thursday to meet with President Vladimir Putin, then fly to Dublin, Ireland, to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Ukrainian leader gave a muted welcome to the outcome of the talks, saying a proposed prisoner exchange was a positive step. But he said Ukraine will not give in to demands that it cede its territory that has been occupied by Russia in exchange for peace.
Medinsky said he felt the talks helped Moscow and Kyiv edge closer to peace, while Kremlin foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov described them as “substantive and quite useful.”
Umerov said Kyiv’s delegation was expected to meet later Wednesday with representatives of European governments, the European Union and NATO who were in the capital of the United Arab Emirates but did not attend the three-way talks.
Moscow doesn’t want European countries, which are concerned about Russia’s conduct and broader intentions on the continent, involved in the direct negotiations. Kushner said one of the goals of the Moscow meeting is to try to get Europeans added to the talks.
In Dublin, Zelenskyy said it was positive that security advisers and senior officials from European governments, the EU and NATO were in Abu Dhabi, even though they were not a part of the talks.
Despite that. he said there had been a “change in temperature,” with Washington warming to the idea of a European role.
“Ending this war without Europe’s participation would be unjust, and it would be impossible,” Zelenskyy said through an interpreter.
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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said European representatives could eventually join peace talks but added their current statements “don’t indicate any desire on their part to contribute to movement along the path toward peace.” Moscow complains that Europe is financing and supplying weaponry to Ukraine.
Kushner said both Ukraine and Russia needed clarity on postwar security arrangements. He said European countries, the EU and NATO have to be involved in those discussions to build consensus on next steps.
Ukraine wants to ensure that Moscow doesn’t invade again, and EU officials say any discussions on Europe’s security arrangements could only start after a ceasefire. Many in Europe see the inclusion of Russia in those plans as a concession to Putin, who has described NATO’s eastward expansion as a top security threat to his country. Moscow has demanded that the alliance’s troops be pulled back its troops from Russia’s borders.
Russia’s security concerns were discussed at the talks, Kushner said, adding that Moscow was told it needs to provide different de-escalation proposals acceptable to Europe.
“The reality is, is there’s no trust right now between the sides. And that’s to be expected after a conflict like this,” he said. But he posted on X later that the POW exchange “will reunite families, build trust and create momentum toward peace.”
The context of the negotiations has changed since the February meeting in Geneva. The Trump administration now must reckon with Democrats taking over the U.S. Congress in January following the U.S. midterm elections, and they could demand more support for Ukraine.
Also, Russia’s wartime economy is under heavy strain, and Ukraine is reeling from devastating aerial attacks on its power grid.
Fighting continues on the front line, where little territory has changed hands this year. Both countries are battering each other with long-range missiles and drones.
Three people died and 11 were injured after Russia launched a daytime attack on a market in the southern Odesa region, local authorities said. Residential buildings were damaged, said Oleh Kiper, head of the regional military administration.
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Overnight, Russia struck the Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine and the eastern city of Kharkiv, wounding seven civilians and damaging property, Ukrainian officials said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it downed 627 Ukrainian drones overnight, 150 of them over the region around St. Petersburg. Regional Gov. Alexander Drozdenko said the drones started a fire at the port of Ust-Luga, a main facility for Russian oil exports, injuring three workers.
Meanwhile, a 49-year-old Indonesian man reportedly was captured on the battlefield in southern Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region after he claimed he was unknowingly recruited to fight for the Russian military.
The Indonesian Embassy in Kyiv was seeking access to the man, who was in Ukrainian custody, according to Yvonne Mewengkang, a spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to Ukraine’s “I Want to Live” project that offers Russian troops the opportunity to surrender, the man was taken to occupied Donetsk with no military training and then to the Zaporizhzhia region, where his unit was attacked and he was captured.
The man said he signed what he believed to be a contract to work in construction for one year in Moscow, the group said on Telegram.
Ukrainian and Russian officials had no immediate comment.
—AP reporters Susie Blann in Kyiv, Ukraine, Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal and Edna Tarigan in Jakarta contributed.
