Ukraine and Russia are preparing to carry out the largest prisoner exchange since the conflict began. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy made the announcement on a Sunday.
Speaking to journalists in Dublin, Zelenskyy confirmed that Moscow had agreed to the terms of the swap. He met with United States President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law and Special Envoy Jared Kushner during the visit.
"It will be the biggest exchange of war prisoners," Zelenskyy said. "This is a real result. This is very important."
The announcement followed peace talks mediated by Washington in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi. Zelenskyy stated that the recent diplomatic track provided hope that the war could eventually be brought to an end.
He said that more meetings are expected between the involved parties. Each successive round of negotiations must produce concrete results to bring the warring sides closer to a resolution, according to Zelenskyy.
European representatives are scheduled to join the negotiating team directly during the next round of talks, rather than participating separately. Zelenskyy pointed to this structural change for future security guarantees.
"They will have a voice," he said. "This is important for us because the war is in Europe, we will be a member of the EU in the future. That’s why it’s very important. And for prosperity and for security guarantees, it’s very important to have Europe."
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Witkoff and Kushner in Moscow. That meeting took place a day after the conclusion of the peace talks in Abu Dhabi.
