Russia and Ukraine agree to a major prisoner exchange.
Kushner announces plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
US-led diplomatic efforts to revive peace talks continue.
Officials involved in the US-brokered negotiations between Russia and Ukraine said on Wednesday that both sides had reached an agreement to carry out a major prisoner-of-war exchange.
The two-day negotiations in Abu Dhabi ended with an agreement on a major prisoner exchange, although the final numbers are yet to be confirmed. Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, announced the development after the talks.
“One of the positives is we agreed that we’re going to have the biggest humanitarian release of prisoners, which we’re going to finalize the numbers tomorrow,” he said, according to AP.
The planned exchange was also confirmed by Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky and Rustem Umerov, who represented Ukraine at the discussions.
The meeting, the first between the two delegations in nine months, had begun with limited expectations of a significant breakthrough. Russia and Ukraine have conducted prisoner swaps at several points during their nearly five-year conflict.
Washington, meanwhile, has said it remains committed to restarting its peace initiative, which has so far failed to produce any major results.
Kushner And Witkoff Will Meet Putin
The diplomatic engagements are set to continue beyond Abu Dhabi, with Ukrainian delegation head Rustem Umerov saying Kyiv's representatives are expected to hold a meeting with European officials on Wednesday.
Kushner also announced plans to travel to Moscow on Thursday alongside US envoy Steve Witkoff for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two are then scheduled to fly to Dublin to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The negotiations are taking place against a changed political and military backdrop compared with the previous round in Geneva in February. Following the US midterm elections, the Trump administration faces the prospect of Democrats taking control of Congress in January, potentially increasing pressure on Washington to provide greater support to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russia is grappling with mounting pressure on its wartime economy, while Ukraine continues to suffer the impact of devastating Russian aerial strikes on its power infrastructure.
