Russia and Ukraine agree to a prisoner swap in Abu Dhabi
Two days of U.S.-mediated talks produced a swap agreed "in principle", but no movement on territory or security guarantees.
Russia and Ukraine agreed "in principle" to a large prisoner-of-war swap as two days of talks in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, wrapped up Wednesday with the United States as mediator. Beyond the exchange, the delegations reported no progress toward ending the war.
Vladimir Medinsky, who headed the Russian delegation, confirmed the deal with that caveat and said more rounds would follow. Rustem Umerov, who led Ukraine's side, confirmed the swap too. U.S. envoy Jared Kushner said final numbers would be set Thursday and called it the largest humanitarian release of prisoners.
Alexander Zorin, a spokesman for Russia's General Staff, put the timeline at two to three weeks.
On Tuesday, the first day, Ukraine met with European and American partners, followed by a three-way format with the U.S. and Russian delegations, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's account on X.
The core issues are untouched. There is no deal on postwar security guarantees, on what happens to the Ukrainian land Russia occupies, or on Europe's place at the table: Moscow kept it out of the direct negotiations. Moscow will have to come with de-escalation steps Europe can accept, Kushner said.
There is precedent at the same venue. A round in Abu Dhabi in February ended with a swap of 314 prisoners of war, 157 from each side.
For Mexico the effect is indirect: with no peace deal, the war keeps pushing on energy and grain prices. Thursday will show how many people the swap covers.
