Russia-Ukraine Agree Biggest Prisoner Swap in Abu DhabiWorld

The talks in the United Arab Emirates capital were the first trilateral negotiations between the three sides since February, and the fourth round overall. They came as the Trump administration renewed its drive to end the conflict, which has now entered its fifth year with no end in sight.

Despite the humanitarian breakthrough, the negotiations produced little else in the way of concrete progress. Kushner said the two envoys would travel to Moscow on Thursday to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, and would then fly to Dublin to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an effort to push a deal forward.

Territory remains the hardest issue

Medinsky told reporters that the two sides had found mutual understanding in some areas but not in others, and that the conversation would continue. Territory remains the central obstacle, with the Russian negotiator insisting that every inch of land claimed by Moscow would be returned to Russia, while Kyiv has refused to surrender territory.

Zelensky praised Washington for organising the talks and described the prisoner agreement as an important humanitarian step. He said Kyiv hoped to achieve concrete results by the end of the year, but cautioned that much would depend on how the United States approached Moscow in the coming days.

European national security advisers, along with officials from NATO and the European Union, were also in Abu Dhabi this week for separate discussions with Ukrainian and American negotiators, underlining the wider diplomatic effort surrounding the talks.

The negotiations unfolded against continued fighting on the ground. Overnight, Russian strikes hit the southern Zaporizhzhia region and the eastern city of Kharkiv, wounding seven civilians. Earlier this month, at least 55 people were killed when Russian bombs struck a school building used as a shelter and aid centre in Zaporizhzhia, one of the deadliest single incidents of the war.

Civilian deaths in Ukraine are at their highest point since the conflict began, with more than 2,700 people killed in Russian strikes so far this year, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data monitor. Markets reacted positively to the talks, with oil prices falling more than a dollar on Thursday as traders bet that progress towards a settlement, however gradual, was under way.

Whether the prisoner exchange leads to wider movement remains uncertain. All previous rounds of trilateral talks have ended without a significant breakthrough, and the two sides remain far apart on the core questions of territory and security guarantees. For now, the agreement offers the families of captured soldiers the clearest hope of reunion since the war began.