More than 300 prisoners of war were exchanged between Ukraine and Russia on Thursday, following the conclusion of trilateral peace talks involving the United States in Abu Dhabi, officials confirmed. The exchange, the first of its kind in five months, involved 314 prisoners, according to Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s peace envoy, who detailed the outcome on X.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Wednesday that Kyiv anticipated a prisoner exchange “in the near future” as the talks progressed. The U.S. And Russia similarly agreed to “reestablish high level military-to-military dialogue,” which had been suspended since late 2021, according to a statement released by United States European Command (EUCOM). EUCOM emphasized that maintaining dialogue between militaries is “an important factor in global stability and peace, which can only be achieved through strength, and provides a means for increased transparency and de-escalation.”
The trilateral talks, which resumed in the United Arab Emirates after a major energy attack on Ukraine, represent the most constructive engagement between the three nations since Russia’s full-scale invasion began nearly four years ago. The initial round of negotiations, held in Abu Dhabi at the conclude of January, led to a four-day “energy truce” where both sides refrained from attacking each other’s energy infrastructure. However, that truce was broken by Russia with a large-scale drone and missile attack on Ukraine between Monday night and Tuesday morning, involving 450 drones and over 60 missiles, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
The recent strikes caused significant damage to Ukraine’s infrastructure, leaving 1,170 apartment buildings in Kyiv without heating, and were described by representatives from DTEK, Ukraine’s largest private energy company, as “one of the worst attacks” of the entire war. President Zelenskyy characterized the attacks as evidence that Russia’s leadership “do not take diplomacy seriously.”
Despite the renewed hostilities, the talks continued, culminating in the prisoner exchange and the agreement to restore military dialogue. Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s top negotiator, confirmed the resumption of the talks on Wednesday. U.S. Officials previously described the first round of discussions as “the most constructive of the war.”
President Zelenskyy confirmed the return of 157 Ukrainians as a result of the negotiations. The parties are scheduled to continue discussions Friday morning, according to sources familiar with the ongoing process.
