Russia and Ukraine have agreed in principle to a large prisoner of war exchange, the one concrete result of two days of US-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11. A day later, on November 12, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin to follow up. There was still no breakthrough on a ceasefire or on territory.
What was agreed in Abu Dhabi
The trilateral talks brought together Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov and delegation member Davyd Arakhamia, Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky, and the two US envoys. Kushner called the swap “the biggest humanitarian release of prisoners.”
The final numbers have not been announced. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said negotiators discussed 1,000 prisoners from each side, possibly rising to 1,500 each. A Russian military official, Alexander Zorin, said each side would release more than 1,000, possibly within two to three weeks. Medinsky described the deal as agreed “in principle,” with details still to be worked out.
What happened at the Kremlin
Putin’s foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov called the Kremlin meeting “useful” and said direct contacts with Kyiv would continue. He said Putin plans to raise Ukraine with US President Donald Trump at the APEC summit in China later this month.
According to the Kremlin’s account, Putin proposed a joint humanitarian mission to the city of Kostiantynivka, organised by the two countries’ human rights ombudsmen. Ukraine disputes Russia’s claim to control the city. Ushakov said the US side supported the idea. Witkoff, speaking to Russian state media, said a new round of three-way talks had been agreed and that European representatives would join. Moscow has not confirmed that part.
The sticking points
- Ceasefire: Russia rejects an immediate ceasefire and wants wider security arrangements agreed first.
- Territory: Moscow wants Ukraine to withdraw from the parts of the Donbas region it still controls. Zelenskyy says such decisions can only be taken at the level of leaders.
- A leaders’ meeting: Kushner said a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting is still some way off. “We are pushing a boulder uphill,” he said.
What comes next
After Moscow, the US envoys were due to brief Zelenskyy in Dublin, where he is meeting European leaders. The prisoner exchange itself, if it goes ahead at the scale discussed, would be one of the largest of the war and a relief for thousands of families on both sides. Whether it leads to anything bigger depends on the next round of talks.
Reporting based on Euronews, HNGN, Meduza and ABC News.
Featured image: AdnanDekedek, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
