Russia-Ukraine talks end with agreement on prisoner swap

Russian state news agency RIA reports that Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 157 prisoners of war each.

Ukraine and Russia have concluded a second day of US-brokered negotiations in the United Arab Emirates, reaching an agreement to exchange 314 prisoners of war.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who was leading the American mediation team alongside Jared Kushner, confirmed the prisoner deal in a post on X on Thursday, saying that while “significant work remains, steps like this demonstrate that sustained diplomatic engagement is delivering tangible results and advancing efforts to end the war in Ukraine.”

Before the session’s conclusion, Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev told state media that “things are moving forward in a good, positive direction.” He also said that active work was underway to restore Russia’s relations with the US, including within the framework of a US-Russia working ‍group on the economy.

However, he criticised what he described as attempts by European nations to “disrupt the progress” and “meddle” in the process.

The first round of trilateral negotiations took place in late January but appeared to make little progress on the vital question of territory. Moscow is demanding Kyiv cede a fifth of the Donetsk region that it still controls, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government is refusing to do.

Prisoner exchange deal

Russian state news agency RIA later reported that Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 157 prisoners of war each, citing the Defense Ministry. Three civilians from the Kursk region were also returned to Russia.

It was the first such agreement between the two nations in several months. The last time Moscow and Kyiv successfully conducted a prisoner swap was on October 2, 2025, facilitated by the “Istanbul agreements” following three rounds of direct negotiations held in the Turkish city earlier that year.

The talks come ahead of the war’s four-year anniversary on February 24. In a rare disclosure of battlefield losses, Zelenskyy estimated this week that 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the 2022 invasion. He added that thousands more remain missing and that it was the staggering human toll that had brought both sides to the negotiating table.

Continued attacks

Even as the swap was being finalised, the violence continued. In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that an overnight Russian drone attack wounded two elderly women and damaged residential buildings, an office block, and a kindergarten.

Ukraine’s air force ‌said Russia launched ⁠two ballistic missiles and 183 drones at Ukraine overnight – air defence shot down 156 ‌drones.

A man was also hurt in the surrounding Kyiv ‍region, the regional governor said.

The strike was part of a larger Russian campaign targeting Ukraine’s power grid during the coldest weeks of winter.

On Wednesday, Russian forces shelled Ukraine’s eastern city of Druzhkivka, killing at least seven people at a crowded market.

The attack, using cluster munitions, targeted the market during a typically busy time on Wednesday morning, Donetsk governor Vadym Filashkin said. In addition to the seven killed, 15 others were injured, he said. The eldest victim was 81.