Russia and Ukraine Agree Largest Prisoner Swap After Abu Dhabi Talks

Russia and Ukraine have agreed the largest prisoner exchange of the war after two days of US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi, the first direct negotiations between the two sides in about nine months.

The agreement was the only concrete outcome announced when the talks ended on Wednesday, 11 November. The two sides remain far apart on territory and a ceasefire, and the United States said trust between Moscow and Kyiv was still missing.

US envoy Jared Kushner, who mediated the talks with fellow envoy Steve Witkoff, told reporters the exchange would be the biggest humanitarian release of prisoners so far. “One of the positives is we agreed that we’re going to have the biggest humanitarian release of prisoners, which we’re going to finalize the numbers tomorrow,” he said.

The largest exchange of the war

The head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, and the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Rustem Umerov, both confirmed that a large-scale exchange had been agreed. Medinsky described the agreement as “in principle”, signalling that the details still have to be worked out.

Russian officials said the swap would involve more than 1,000 prisoners from each side. Lieutenant General Alexander Sorin put the figure above 1,000 on each side, while Russia’s state-run news agency TASS reported that the exchange should take place within two to three weeks, once the necessary procedures are complete.

The Associated Press reported that hopes had been low for a major breakthrough in the first meeting in nine months between the delegations, and that Russia and Ukraine have swapped prisoners from time to time during their nearly five-year war.

Both sides have exchanged thousands of captured soldiers since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. The talks were the first round since a meeting in Geneva in February; the delegations met for four hours on Tuesday, 10 November, before resuming on Wednesday.

No breakthrough on territory

Beyond the prisoner exchange, the negotiators announced no comprehensive agreement and no breakthrough capable of resolving the main political and military disputes.

Kushner said the talks had made progress on postwar security guarantees for Ukraine, but no agreement could be reached until the territorial dispute was settled. Ukraine has rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s demand to surrender the whole of the eastern Donbas region in return for peace, and Reuters reported there has been no sign of major compromises on the main issues after more than four and a half years of war.

Kushner was blunt about the atmosphere in the room. He said there was currently no trust between the opposing sides, describing that as an understandable consequence of a prolonged and destructive war. The United States said the talks were useful, while acknowledging that deep mistrust continues to complicate efforts to end the fighting.

Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia said the talks had been tough, with the Russian delegation arriving with “strict directives”, but that they provided “good momentum” towards reaching a solution before the end of the year.

What happens next

Kushner said he and Witkoff would travel to Moscow on Thursday, 12 November, to meet Putin, and then fly to Dublin to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He said they would raise the question of broadening the talks to include European partners.

Zelenskyy had described Tuesday’s session as constructive and quite substantive, saying it focused largely on humanitarian questions, including possible prisoner swaps, the return of Ukrainian civilians held in captivity and children taken out of the country.

The final numbers are due on Thursday. Until then, the agreement remains a promise rather than a completed swap, and the fighting continues: the strike on a Ukrainian aid centre earlier this month was a reminder that the war grinds on even while diplomats talk, and a US Army officer arrested in England this week on suspicion of spying for Russia underlined how far the confrontation has spread beyond the battlefield.

A war nearing five years

The war is nearing its fifth year, and the fighting continues on the front line, where little territory has changed hands this year. The two days of meetings fit a familiar pattern: a humanitarian step forward, agreement to keep talking, and the hardest questions left untouched.

Whether the exchange becomes the start of something larger will depend on what Kushner and Witkoff hear in Moscow, and what they carry back to Zelenskyy in Dublin. For the families of more than 1,000 prisoners on each side, it is at least a date to wait for — within two to three weeks, if the timetable holds.

How many prisoners will be exchanged?

More than 1,000 prisoners from each side, Russian officials said — which would make it the largest exchange of the war. Exact numbers are due on Thursday, 12 November.

When will the exchange happen?

Within two to three weeks, according to Russia’s state-run news agency TASS, once the necessary procedures are complete. No date has been formally confirmed.

Does this mean a ceasefire is close?

No. The negotiators announced no agreement on a ceasefire, territory or security guarantees; the exchange is a humanitarian step, not evidence that the main obstacles have been resolved.