Russia and Ukraine Agree Large Prisoner Swap as Abu Dhabi Talks Conclude

Russia and Ukraine have agreed a large-scale prisoner exchange after two days of US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi concluded on Wednesday, Russia’s chief negotiator said, in the first direct meeting between the two sides in nine months. The agreement on an Abu Dhabi prisoner swap was the main concrete outcome of a round that produced no ceasefire and no breakthrough on territory.

FAKTA

• Two days of US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi, 10–11 November 2026 — the first trilateral round since February.
• Russia and Ukraine agreed a large-scale prisoner swap; no size or date has been announced.
• Day one lasted more than four hours; day two ended after less than two hours.
• US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday, then fly to Dublin to meet Volodymyr Zelensky.
• No ceasefire was agreed, and fighting continued while the talks were under way.

Abu Dhabi prisoner swap agreed

Vladimir Medinsky, who led the Russian delegation, said after the talks ended that Russia and Ukraine had agreed on a large-scale prisoner swap, the latest in a long line of such exchanges. He said the details would be made public soon. Ukrainian media also reported that the two sides had agreed on a large exchange, without giving details. No size or date for the exchange has been announced.

The first day of the talks focused largely on humanitarian questions, including prisoner exchanges, the return of Ukrainian civilians held in captivity and children taken from Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky described the humanitarian discussions as “constructive and quite substantive” and said the American team had changed its approach to the talks. “I see changes. I’m very happy with what I hear,” he said.

US envoys Jared Kushner (left) and Steve Witkoff (right), with NATO commander General Alexus Grynkewich, at the coordination meeting before the trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi. (Altaf Qadri/AP)

No breakthrough on territory

Medinsky said the two sides had reached a common understanding on some issues but not on others, and that the discussion would continue. A new European security framework was a central theme of the two days, he said. “Together with the American side, we exchanged our views on this; on some points we reached a common understanding, whilst on others we did not,” Medinsky said in remarks broadcast on Russian state television. “The world needs a new, modern, updated security system – one that is fair and does not disadvantage any particular countries.”

Zelensky, speaking before the second day, accused Putin of “living in a different reality”, saying Russian officers had vastly exaggerated Moscow’s control over the Donbas. Russia wants Ukraine to surrender the whole of the Donbas — the Donetsk and Luhansk regions — a demand Kyiv has rejected. Zelensky said there could be no conclusive peace deal without a face-to-face meeting with Putin, something the Kremlin says can only happen in Moscow. Zelensky has ruled out travelling to the Russian capital.

Europe kept out of the room

Medinsky was cool on the prospect of European countries joining future talks, saying Russia had received “not a single peace initiative or a single concrete peace proposal” from European countries. Ukrainian negotiators were due to hold separate talks with European officials on Wednesday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the talks “very productive” but cautioned that a settlement was not imminent. “It’s not like something that’s on the verge of being solved in the next 24 hours or anything like that,” he said. Kushner said Tuesday’s session had “narrowed the gaps” between the two sides.

Envoys head to Moscow and Dublin

Witkoff and Kushner will meet Putin in Moscow on Thursday, Kushner said, adding that the meeting would “try to make more progress on some of the issues that we discussed because we see some openings.” The two envoys will then fly to Dublin to meet Zelensky and “further explore some of the ideas that we came up with here today.”

Fighting continued during the talks

Russia and Ukraine traded missile strikes within hours of the end of the first day. A Russian attack knocked out power in parts of Kryvyi Rih, Zelensky’s home city, as part of a bombardment that Ukraine said targeted six large electricity substations in the centre of the country. Russia launched 162 drones and a ballistic missile at Ukraine overnight, Ukraine’s air force said, while Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces downed 155 Ukrainian drones overnight in eight Russian regions and over Crimea.

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