Witkoff and Kushner Prepare Largest Prisoner Exchange Between Ukraine and Russia

US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have begun preparations for the largest prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia since the start of the full-scale war. White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly announced this on Friday, 13 November.

"Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have been working actively with both sides," Kelly wrote on social network X, clarifying that she was referring to the sides in the Russia-Ukraine war and that, on the instructions of [US] President Trump, they are seeking to bring this conflict to a definitive end.

According to her, this week the envoys held the second round of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, met with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, secured Europe's participation in future discussions and launched preparations for a large-scale prisoner exchange.

The Ukraine-Russia-US trilateral consultations took place in Abu Dhabi on 10-11 November and produced a framework agreement on a large prisoner-of-war exchange, but brought no breakthrough on territorial issues. On 12 November, Witkoff and Kushner met with Putin in Moscow for about 2.5 hours to brief him on the results of the Abu Dhabi talks. After the meeting in the Kremlin, Witkoff confirmed that a new round of multilateral peace talks — with the participation of European representatives — has been scheduled and could take place within the coming week.

During the Moscow talks, Putin again stated that Moscow is opposed to the deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine and considers them legitimate targets, and proposed a humanitarian mission in the frontline town of Kostiantynivka. Ukrainian presidential adviser Dmytro Lytvyn rejected the claim of Russian control over Kostiantynivka, accusing Moscow of having previously used humanitarian operations in Oleshky to rotate troops and move military equipment.

The last prisoner exchange between Kyiv and Moscow took place on 23 October: Ukraine brought 270 people home, including nine civilians and five survivors of the Russian strike on the Olenivka penal colony in July 2022.