What happened
Russia and Ukraine agreed to conduct a large prisoner-of-war exchange after two days of U.S.-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi, according to officials involved in the negotiations. Jared Kushner, a senior U.S. negotiator, said the sides would finalize the numbers for what he described as the biggest humanitarian release of prisoners.
Vladimir Medinsky, who led the Russian delegation, and Rustem Umerov, who led Ukraine's delegation, confirmed the planned exchange. The meeting was the first between the two delegations in nine months.
Despite the agreement on prisoners, officials said Russia's demand that its seizure of a large portion of eastern Ukraine be recognized as legitimate remained a major obstacle to a broader peace deal. Hopes for a significant breakthrough had been low going into the talks.
Kushner and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff were scheduled to travel to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, then fly to Dublin to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy said the American envoys would coordinate positions with Ukrainian officials after the Moscow visit.
Zelenskyy described Tuesday's session as constructive and substantive but rejected what he characterized as a U.S. request for Ukraine to accept territorial concessions in exchange for security guarantees short of NATO membership. He said Europe must be represented at every stage of real diplomacy.
Fighting continued on the front lines in eastern Ukraine. Russian strikes hit the Zaporizhzhia region, Kharkiv, and Odesa, causing civilian casualties and property damage. Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses downed hundreds of Ukrainian drones overnight, including strikes near St. Petersburg that caused a fire at an oil export facility.
