Delegations from Ukraine, Russia, and the US have agreed to exchange 314 prisoners of war following the talks in Abu Dhabi – the first such swap in five months – according to US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
“This outcome was achieved from peace talks that have been detailed and productive,” Witkoff wrote on X. “While significant work remains, steps like this demonstrate that sustained diplomatic engagement is delivering tangible results and advancing efforts to end the war in Ukraine.”
Discussions are set to continue, with further progress expected in the coming weeks, he added.
Witkoff thanked the United Arab Emirates for hosting the negotiations and credited US President Donald Trump’s leadership with helping make the agreement possible.
Ukrainian and Russian negotiators continued a second day of US-mediated talks on Thursday in Abu Dhabi.
“The second day of talks has begun. We’re working in the same formats as yesterday: trilateral consultations, group work, and subsequent alignment of positions,” Ukraine’s lead negotiator Rustem Umerov said in the morning.
Wednesday’s first day of discussions was described by Kyiv as “substantive and productive,” though no breakthrough was reached. Umerov said “concrete steps and practical solutions” were discussed.
The Kremlin, however, reiterated its hardline stance. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the fighting would continue “until the Kyiv regime makes the appropriate decisions.”
The main sticking point remains the long-term fate of territory in eastern Ukraine. Moscow demands Kyiv pull troops from parts of the Donbas that Russia has not been able to conquer in 12 years of fighting, including heavily fortified cities, and seek international recognition of lands seized during the invasion.
Kyiv insists that the fighting should be frozen along the current front line and rejects any troop withdrawals.
Trilateral talks, first held Jan. 23-24, are the most public sign of progress in Trump’s efforts to negotiate an end to the war. Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are leading US efforts to bring both sides to agreement.
In Kyiv, Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhy said Ukraine is “interested in finding out what the Russians and Americans really want” from the talks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that he had received a report from Ukrainian negotiators in Abu Dhabi that evening.
“There will also be a significant step: we expect an exchange of prisoners of war in the near future. We need to bring our people home,” he added.
Zelensky told a Kyiv Post reporter last month that Russia was deliberately delaying prisoner swaps to pressure Ukraine in ongoing negotiations.
Sources familiar with the matter told Kyiv Post that the prisoner exchange had been scheduled for Jan. 24 but was postponed. They added that this was not the only time exchanges were canceled.
In 2025, Ukraine saw the return of 2,310 citizens from Russian captivity – a record since the full-scale invasion began. Several of these exchanges were arranged through talks between lower-level Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul.