Russia and Ukraine agreed on Wednesday to a large exchange of prisoners of war after two days of U.S.-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi, both sides said, but they announced no major breakthrough on ending the conflict that began with Moscow's full-scale invasion nearly five years ago.
"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," U.S. envoy Jared Kushner said after the talks in Abu Dhabi ended. Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation, and Rustem Umerov, who led Kyiv's contingent, confirmed the planned exchange, although Medinsky noted that the agreement was "in principle."
Alexander Zorin, a deputy chief of the Russian General Staff's information department who attended the talks, told Russian state television that it would be one of the biggest such swaps since 1,000 soldiers were returned home last year. The latest exchange could take place in the next two or three weeks, he said.
The session was the first such meeting in nine months between the delegations. The talks lasted just under two hours on Wednesday, after a four-hour session the previous day. Hopes had been low for any significant development, and the two sides remain far apart on the fate of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory, postwar security guarantees and what role European countries will play in an eventual settlement. No ceasefire was announced.
Kushner said he and fellow U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow on Thursday to meet President Vladimir Putin, then fly to Dublin, Ireland, to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. One goal of the Moscow meeting is to try to get Europeans added to the talks: Moscow excluded European officials from the direct negotiations, though Umerov said Kyiv's delegation was expected to meet later on Wednesday with representatives of European governments, the European Union and NATO who were in Abu Dhabi.
"Ukraine's priority is to end the war as soon as possible with a dignified peace," Zelenskyy said on X. "We believe that Europe must be represented at every stage of real diplomacy. It is essential that the United States have a strong position and exert influence on the source of this war — that is Russia." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said European representatives could eventually join peace talks, but said their current statements "don't indicate any desire on their part to contribute to movement along the path toward peace."
Fighting continued even as the talks ended. Three people died and 11 were injured after Russia launched a daytime attack on a market in the southern Odesa region, local authorities said. Overnight, Russia struck the southern Zaporizhzhia region and the eastern city of Kharkiv, wounding seven civilians, Ukrainian officials said. Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses downed 627 Ukrainian drones overnight, 150 of them over the region around St. Petersburg, and a fire at the port of Ust-Luga, one of the main facilities for Russian oil exports, injured three workers.
