Under US mediation, the Russian and Ukrainian delegations concluded a two-day peace negotiation in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, February 5th. While a comprehensive breakthrough to end the nearly four-year conflict was not achieved, they successfully finalized a specific prisoner exchange agreement, with both sides releasing a total of 157 individuals.
This marks the first prisoner exchange between the two countries since October last year and is viewed as the highest-level and most substantive diplomatic contact between the two countries in months.
According to the agreement, Ukraine received 157 personnel, including members of the armed forces, the National Guard, the Border Guard Service, and 7 civilians.
Ukrainian officials stated that 139 of these individuals had been imprisoned since the beginning of the conflict in 2022. Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that 157 prisoners of war had returned, with 3 of them being Russian civilians detained during the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region from 2024 to 2025.
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy took to social media to express that the prisoner exchange on Thursday “only took place after a long pause,” promising to bring back every Ukrainian still detained by the Russian side.
The Thursday meeting lasted for three hours, following a previous round of trilateral negotiations on Wednesday that lasted approximately five and a half hours.
The negotiations were led by special envoy Witkoff and President’s son-in-law Kushner, assigned by US President Trump.
Witkoff described the dialogue on social media platform X as “detailed and productive,” but cautiously added that “there is still a lot of important work to be done.”
US Secretary of State Rubio highlighted the significance of these negotiations, stating: “This is the first meeting in a long time where Russian and Ukrainian military technical teams have met in a format that we are also involved in.”
Rubio emphasized that despite any leaked information, substantial results are not guaranteed until a real breakthrough occurs, and the goal of the US is to uphold and continuously drive forward this process.
Unlike previous delegations sent at a lower level, both the Russian and Ukrainian sides dispatched high-ranking military and intelligence officials for these negotiations. Ukrainian President’s Office Director Budanov described the trilateral talks as “truly constructive” and thanked the US and the UAE for their roles in facilitating the talks.
Russian representative Dmitriev also signaled positively, stating that progress had been made on ending the war and that there was a momentum of “moving forward.”
Although the atmosphere of the negotiations was more relaxed than before, serious disagreements still exist on crucial territorial issues. Reports indicate that Russia demanded Ukraine to cede the entire Donbas industrial region, including areas still under Ukrainian control. Additionally, Moscow proposed restrictions on the size of the Ukrainian military and banning the presence of Western forces.
Ukraine, on the other hand, rejected unilateral disarmament, advocating for a ceasefire along the current frontlines and requesting solid security guarantees from US and European allies to prevent future attacks.
Zelenskyy admitted that the negotiations were challenging and expressed his hope for “more rapid results.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine is facing an extreme cold wave within its borders. After briefly adhering to Trump’s request for a week of ceasefire, Russia resumed strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities. This action led to thousands of civilians facing water cuts, power outages, and heating disruptions in the harsh cold.
While a final agreement has not been reached through the peace negotiations, Zelenskyy stated that relevant dialogues will continue in the near future.