Russia, Ukraine agree to big prisoner swap as talks end

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a large exchange of prisoners of war. The deal came as two days of US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi ended on Wednesday, November 11, but the sides announced no major breakthrough on ending the war, the Associated Press reported. It was the first three-way meeting since February. "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 Donald Trump's son-in-law.dw.com+1

Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky confirmed the swap but said the agreement was "in principle." "The specific details will be announced in the near future," he said. Ukraine's lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, also confirmed the exchange. On November 10, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said negotiators had discussed swapping 1,000 prisoners from each side, possibly rising to 1,500 each.rferl.org+2

Envoys head to Moscow

Kushner said he and envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow on Thursday, November 12, to meet President Vladimir Putin. They then plan to fly to Dublin to brief Zelenskyy. Their goals are to set a date for the next round and to win Putin's approval for Europe to join the negotiations. "We need to have the Europeans at the table," Kushner told Politico. "I believe that hopefully tomorrow in Moscow, Steve and I will be successful and President Putin will give the blessing for that to occur." Russia's state-run TASS agency had also reported that a visit was possible.politico.eu+2

Officials from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, NATO and the EU were in Abu Dhabi but met with US and Ukrainian representatives separately from the three-way sessions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Europeans could eventually join. He added that their current statements "don't indicate any desire on their part to contribute to movement along the path toward peace".local10.com+1

Territory remains the main hurdle

The second day of talks lasted less than two hours. Kushner called the talks "tough but productive" and said territorial issues remain the biggest obstacle. Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from four regions Moscow claims to have annexed and to drop its bid to join NATO. Kyiv refuses to give up territory and is pushing for an immediate ceasefire.apnews.com+2

The fighting continued during the talks. A Russian drone strike left parts of Kryvyi Rih without power and heat. Russia's Defense Ministry said it downed 627 Ukrainian drones overnight, and drones hit the Baltic port of Ust-Luga.rferl.org

"The reality is, is there's no trust right now between the sides," Kushner said. "And that's to be expected after a conflict like this".local10.com