U.S.-Mediated Talks in Abu Dhabi End With Agreement on a Large Prisoner Swap; Fighting Continued Overnight

Status: The prisoner exchange is an agreement in principle. The numbers have not been finalized, and no ceasefire or territorial settlement was announced.

After two days of U.S.-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi — the first meeting of U.S., Russian, and Ukrainian officials in this format since February — officials said the sides had agreed on a large exchange of prisoners of war, the Associated Press reported. "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," Jared Kushner said after the talks ended.

Vladimir Medinsky, who led the Russian delegation, and Rustem Umerov, who led Kyiv's delegation, confirmed the planned exchange, AP and Euronews reported. Neither side published a final headcount or a date for the swap. Euronews reported that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that negotiators had been discussing an exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side, potentially rising to 1,500 each; that figure has not been confirmed as the agreed total.

Kushner said he and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff would travel to Moscow on Thursday to meet President Vladimir Putin and would then see Zelenskyy separately. Euronews and RFE/RL reported that the Zelenskyy meeting was expected in Dublin.

The talks did not produce an agreement on territory or on security guarantees. Medinsky, in remarks reported by the Guardian and Reuters, was cool on the prospect of European countries joining the talks. Euronews reported that Moscow has rejected calls for an immediate ceasefire and has insisted on broader security arrangements, and that Russia continues to demand a Ukrainian withdrawal from parts of Donbas still under Kyiv's control, which Zelenskyy has said must be addressed at the leaders' level. Those positions were not bridged in Abu Dhabi.

Fighting during the talks

The negotiations took place as both sides launched large drone attacks. Russia's Defense Ministry said it downed at least 627 Ukrainian drones overnight, including about 150 over the Leningrad region, ABC News reported. Leningrad region Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said the target was the port area of Ust-Luga, a Baltic export hub, and that several drones hit the area, starting a fire and injuring three workers whose lives were not in danger. Those figures and the damage assessment are from Russian officials and have not been independently verified. The Kyiv Post similarly reported the governor's account and said the precise facilities struck and whether oil-loading operations were interrupted had not yet been independently established.

Ukraine's air force, ABC reported, said Russia launched 163 drones, many of them jet-powered, along with missiles, and that Ukrainian defenses intercepted or suppressed 130 of the drones and 14 cruise missiles. ABC also reported two people killed in a drone attack in Russia's Smolensk region, according to local officials there.