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Kushner Says Russia and Ukraine Have Agreed to Large-Scale Prisoner Exchange
By Maya Wilson
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U.S. special envoy Jared Kushner said Wednesday that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a large-scale prisoner exchange, following two days of U.S.-mediated negotiations in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, according to NBC News.
The announcement marks a significant development in the diplomatic effort, but the agreement rests on Kushner’s statement in the reporting available to the desk. NBC News did not include confirmation from either the Ukrainian or Russian government.
No final number of prisoners to be exchanged or date for the release was provided in the NBC report.
The possibility of a major exchange had been discussed during the Abu Dhabi negotiations. In earlier coverage, The Library reported that the delegations considered an exchange involving up to 1,500 prisoners per side. At the conclusion of the talks, negotiators had described progress and understandings on some issues, but no formal prisoner-exchange agreement had yet been announced.
Kushner’s statement now indicates that an agreement has been reached, although its scale and implementation remain unclear. The figure of up to 1,500 prisoners on each side was the proposal discussed during the talks; it should not be treated as the confirmed size of the newly announced agreement.
Kushner and fellow U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff are scheduled to travel to Moscow on Thursday for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kushner had said the purpose of that visit was to finalize the numbers for the prisoner release.
The planned Moscow meeting therefore remains part of the effort to settle the details of the exchange. The available reporting does not establish whether the final numbers will be agreed during that visit or when prisoners could be transferred.
Neither Kyiv nor Moscow had publicly confirmed the agreement in the reporting available to the desk. No exchange had been reported as carried out.
Update: NPR and Al Jazeera now report the exchange agreement as the outcome of the Abu Dhabi talks, with NPR calling it the biggest humanitarian release since the war began in 2022, and SCMP and CNA now confirm that both sides agreed to the exchange. No final number or date has been reported.
— Maya Wilson, World Desk
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