Russia and Ukraine Agree in Principle to Prisoner Exchange

Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement in principle on a large-scale prisoner exchange after two days of U.S.-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi, negotiators from both countries said Wednesday. The exchange’s final size and timing have not been announced, and practical arrangements remain to be settled.

Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov said the sides were working through implementation details. Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky also confirmed a fundamental agreement, saying more information would follow. Jared Kushner, a U.S. envoy, said the final number of prisoners was expected to be determined Thursday, November 12.

Russian official Alexander Zorin said the exchange could involve more than 1,000 people on each side and might take place within two to three weeks, once arrangements are complete. Those figures and timing are prospective, not finalized terms. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said the sides discussed possible exchanges of 1,000 for 1,000 or 1,500 for 1,500.

The talks, led by U.S. envoys Kushner and Steve Witkoff, were the first trilateral discussions between Russia, Ukraine and the United States since February. The prisoner agreement was the clearest...