May 2025 swap. Ukraine Presidency / CC0; cropped.
Russia and Ukraine have agreed in principle to a large exchange of prisoners of war after two days of U.S.-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi, with the final numbers still to be settled Thursday.
The agreement announced Wednesday is a planned exchange, not a completed release. The talks did not produce a ceasefire or a breakthrough on the territorial disputes dividing the two countries.
U.S. envoy Jared Kushner said the sides had agreed to what he called the “biggest humanitarian release of prisoners,” while making clear that the numbers would be finalized the following day. Russia’s chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, and Ukraine’s lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, also confirmed the planned exchange. No release date was announced.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said Tuesday that negotiators were discussing an exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side, potentially rising to 1,500 each. Those figures remain proposals, not a final count for the new agreement.
Kushner said he and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff would travel to Moscow on Thursday to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, then go to Dublin for talks with Zelenskyy. Umerov said Ukraine’s delegation was also expected to hold discussions with European officials on Wednesday.
The agreement follows the opening of talks previously reported by JBizNews. It is a humanitarian step within negotiations that have yet to settle the wider war.
JBizNews Desk | Global
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