Russia and Ukraine agree to prisoner swap as U.S. says lack of trust holds back talks

Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, on the second day of United Arab Emirates-hosted trilateral talks between the U.S., Russian and Ukrainian delegations, amid a new push to end the war in Ukraine, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Wednesday | REUTERS

Reuters

Nov 12, 2026

ABU DHABI – Russian and Ukrainian negotiators agreed to a major prisoner exchange at two days of peace talks in Abu Dhabi that ended on Wednesday, but U.S. mediators said differences remained on major issues, including territory.

At their first negotiations in nine months, the two countries agreed, in principle, to exchange prisoners of war and to determine the numbers on Thursday.

U.S. envoy Jared Kushner said the new swap would be the “biggest humanitarian release of prisoners” in the 4½-year-old war, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said its scope would be “significant.”

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