Russia and Ukraine agree to a large exchange of prisoners of war, officials at Abu Dhabi talks say

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Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a large-scale exchange of prisoners of war during the US-led peace talks on Wednesday. 

While both sides have yet to agree to a cease-fire, US mediators said the exchange was a sign of good news, and would be bigger than all the previous POW swaps of the war. 

“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,” said Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, after the two days of talks in Abu Dhabi ended. 

U.S. envoy Jared Kushner speaks at a briefing with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, left, and Rustem Umerov, second right, in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on Nov. 11, 2026. AP Photo/Altaf Qadri

Both Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation, and Rustem Umerov, who led Kyiv’s delegation in Abu Dhabi, confirmed the planned exchange. 

Russia and Ukraine have swapped prisoners throughout their nearly five-year war, including after peace talks fail to manifest. 

Along with the POWs, the talks also focused on returning Ukrainian civilians in captivity, including children who were kidnapped from their country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. 

Peace continues to escape the trilateral talks, but Kushner said both he and US envoy Steve Witkoff are set to travel to Moscow on Thursday to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Officials at U.S.-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine said Wednesday that the sides have agreed to a large exchange of prisoners of war. REUTERS

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday’s session was “constructive and quite substantive.” Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images

Ukrainian prisoners of war wrapped in national flags react following an exchange on Oct. 23, 2026. Telegram / @V_Zelensky_official/AFP via Getty Images

The envoys will then travel to Dublin to meet with Zelensky to try and push a deal through. 

The meeting would come after Ukraine’s delegations meet with their allies in Europe on Wednesday, Umerov said.   

While Europe is not officially a member of the negotiating table, it maintains a close seat over its concerns that Russia will target the continent if it’s allowed to continue its Ukraine invasion.

Representatives of European governments, the European Union and NATO were notably in Abu Dhabi to consult with the Ukrainian delegation, officials told the Associated Press. 

The Abu Dhabi talks came as Ukraine and Russia exchanged heavy fire overnight, with a Moscow strike in the southern Zaporizhzhia region and the eastern city of Kharkiv, wounding seven civilians. 

Released Ukrainian prisoners of war wrapped in national flags walk past people holding portraits of missing relatives in Ukraine on Oct. 23, 2026. AFP via Getty Images

Russia, meanwhile, claimed it intercepted 627 Ukrainian drones, including 150 targeting St. Petersburg, regional Gov. Alexander Drozdenko said.

One of the Ukrainian drones hit the port of Ust-Luga, one of Russia’s main oil export facilities, and injured three workers, Drozdenko added. 

With Post Wires