Ukraine and Russia Agreed in Abu Dhabi on a Large-Scale Prisoner Exchange

U.S. President’s Special Representative Jared Kushner and the head of the Ukrainian negotiating delegation, Rustem Umerov, head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, confirmed that an agreement had been reached on a large-scale humanitarian exchange of prisoners of war between Ukraine and Russia. 

The parties will finalize the total numbers of detainees on Thursday, November 12. Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that the formula under consideration is “one thousand for one thousand” or “one and a half thousand for one and a half thousand.”

The negotiations in the UAE’s capital lasted two days and involved delegations from Ukraine, the United States, Russia, and representatives of European countries. In addition to humanitarian issues, the parties discussed the formation of a new European security architecture, Ukraine’s reconstruction, and mutual security requirements. The Ukrainian delegation also included the Head of the Office of the President, Kyrylo Budanov; his First Deputy, Serhiy Kyslytsia; Deputy Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Vadym Skibitsky; and the head of the “Servant of the People” parliamentary faction, Davyd Arakhamia. The U.S. side was represented by Stephen Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and General Alexus Grinkevich, while the Russian side was represented by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to the President of the Russian Federation.

Source: “Interfax-Ukraine.”

As a reminder, Arakhamia suggested that peace between Ukraine and Russia could be achieved by the end of 2026.

Prior to that, following talks in Abu Dhabi, Kushner identified the most difficult obstacle on the path to peace.

Earlier, the second day of talks between Ukraine, the U.S., and Russia on ending the war took place in Abu Dhabi: key takeaways.

Prior to that, Zelenskyy outlined the main objective of the Ukrainian delegation at the Abu Dhabi talks.