Kushner, Medinsky and Umerov statements via Anadolu, Euronews, Interfax and AP, Nov 11
Russia and Ukraine agree in principle on a large prisoner swap, officials say
Officials described a humanitarian agreement in principle after two days of talks, not a ceasefire.
Key facts
- Agreement
- After the second day of US-mediated trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky said the sides "agreed in principle on a new large-scale prisoner exchange, the specific parameters of which will be announced in the near future" (Anadolu). US envoy Jared Kushner said they had agreed on "the biggest humanitarian release of prisoners, which we're going to finalise the numbers tomorrow" (Euronews; the same quote appears in AP's blocked article lede). Ukraine's Rustem Umerov confirmed another exchange had been agreed and that the exact number would be announced later (Interfax-Ukraine)
- Numbers
- Officials said the figures were not yet finalized. This note does not treat any discussed exchange size as an agreed count
- Not a ceasefire
- Euronews, reporting from the UAE, said the prisoner exchange was the tangible result of the two days of talks and that negotiations ended without a breakthrough on a ceasefire or territorial disputes. This is a new outcome note, separate from Tuesday's first-day talks note
- Next steps
- Kushner said he and Steve Witkoff would travel to Moscow on Thursday to meet President Vladimir Putin, then to Dublin to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Euronews)
Note
Officials at US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi said Wednesday, Nov 11, that Russia and Ukraine had agreed in principle on a large prisoner exchange after a second day of negotiations. This is a new outcome, separate from Tuesday's first-day note, which recorded opening remarks and no deal.
Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky said the sides "agreed in principle on a new large-scale prisoner exchange, the specific parameters of which will be announced in the near future," Anadolu reports. US envoy Jared Kushner said, "One of the positives is we agreed that we're going to have the biggest humanitarian release of prisoners, which we're going to finalise the numbers tomorrow," Euronews reports. The same Kushner remark appears in the lede of an AP article that was Cloudflare-blocked from this host. Ukraine's Rustem Umerov said another exchange had been agreed and that the exact number would be announced later, Interfax-Ukraine reports. Officials have not finalized how many people would be exchanged.
No ceasefire or territory agreement was announced. Euronews, reporting from the UAE, said the prisoner exchange was the tangible result of the two-day talks and that negotiations ended without a breakthrough on a ceasefire or territorial disputes.
Why it matters
A large prisoner exchange in principle would be a humanitarian step from the first US-led three-way talks in months, but officials have not agreed the numbers and have not announced a ceasefire or a territorial settlement.
Sources
- Anadolu: Moscow says Russia, Ukraine agree in principle on prisoner exchange (Nov 11 2026)
- Euronews: Abu Dhabi talks end with prisoner exchange agreement; no ceasefire or territorial breakthrough (Nov 11 2026)
- Interfax-Ukraine: Kushner, Umerov confirm POW exchange deal, numbers to be agreed Thursday (Nov 11 2026)
- AP article (Cloudflare-blocked here; opened lede and Kushner quote match the outlets above): Russia and Ukraine agree to a large exchange of prisoners of war, officials at Abu Dhabi talks say (Nov 11 2026)
Primary + secondary attribution as listed.
More: Armed conflict
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