Ukraine and Russia have agreed to a large-scale prisoner exchange following two days of talks in Abu Dhabi. The final number of people to be released is expected to be agreed upon on November 12.
This was reported by Associated Press.
“One of the positives is that we agreed on the largest humanitarian release of prisoners, and we will finalize the numbers tomorrow,” Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, said after the talks concluded on November 11.
The agreement on the planned exchange was confirmed by Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation, and Rustem Umerov, who led the Ukrainian delegation.
It was the first meeting between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in nine months. Despite low expectations of a possible breakthrough, US officials say they intend to intensify Washington’s peace efforts.
Kushner said that on November 12, he and US special envoy Steve Witkoff would travel to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin. They then plan to visit Dublin for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
According to Umerov, the Ukrainian delegation was also expected to meet with European officials on November 11. Representatives of European governments, the European Union and NATO were in Abu Dhabi and held consultations with the Ukrainian side, although Moscow opposes their participation in direct negotiations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the first day of talks as constructive and fairly substantive. The sides discussed humanitarian issues, including prisoner exchanges, the return of Ukrainian civilians held in captivity and children taken out of the country. Security guarantees were also discussed. At the same time, Ukraine and Russia have not yet demonstrated a willingness to compromise on their demands.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the meeting as very productive but warned that achieving a breakthrough in efforts to end the war would take time.
The talks took place against the backdrop of ongoing fighting and exchanges of long-range strikes. Overnight on November 11, Russian forces attacked the Zaporizhzhia region and Kharkiv. Seven civilians were wounded.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that 627 Ukrainian drones had been shot down overnight. According to Leningrad region Governor Alexander Drozdenko, 150 drones were downed over the region. The attack sparked a fire at the port of Ust-Luga, one of Russia’s main oil export facilities. Three workers were injured.
