In brief: President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Friday, Nov. 13, that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner brokered an agreement with Moscow to exchange 1,200 to 1,300 prisoners of war from each side following trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi. Zelensky confirmed that all parties agreed to seat three to five European representatives directly at the negotiating table for the next round, asking Europe to select its delegates by the end of November.
Ukraine and Russia have agreed to conduct a prisoner-of-war exchange involving between 1,200 and 1,300 captives from each side following US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi and Moscow, while all parties consented to seat European representatives directly at the negotiating table for the next round, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Friday, Nov. 13.
Speaking during a press briefing with journalists, Zelensky stated that while Ukraine supported an ambitious “all-for-all” exchange proposal during the Abu Dhabi sessions on Nov. 10-11, subsequent consultations in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner secured a commitment for a swap of over 1,000 personnel per side.
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
“The main signal was to conduct the largest exchange of the entire war,” Zelensky said, adding that negotiators are currently finalizing whether the exact number will be 1,200 or 1,300 prisoners from each side.
If completed, the transfer would far surpass recent repatriation operations, including the Oct. 23 swap in which Ukraine brought home 270 military personnel and civilians, many of whom had been held in Russian captivity since the 2022 siege of Mariupol.
How will Europe be represented at the next round of talks?
Zelensky confirmed that Kyiv’s insistence on full European inclusion was accepted by Washington and subsequently agreed to by Moscow during the Kremlin talks, moving European delegates from side-room consultations directly to the main negotiating table.
“They supported that next time Europe will not be in the next room, as was the case now in Abu Dhabi, but at the same negotiating table, and we will have a joint agenda. The Americans went to Moscow with this proposal too, returned, and said that all parties agreed to it,” the president stated.
European participation had been a major point of contention ahead of the UAE sessions, which revived US-mediated trilateral contacts for the first time since February. While Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov previously dismissed European involvement, European governments and Kyiv insisted that no settlement affecting continental security could be negotiated without their direct participation.
Zelensky asked European allies to finalize their delegation by the end of November, noting an understanding that Kyiv holds the final say over the composition. He projected that Europe will likely be represented by a team of three to five officials.
Potential configurations discussed in Abu Dhabi include top leaders from the EU and NATO, or national security advisors from the E4 grouping – Britain, France, Germany, and Italy – who held separate consultations on the sidelines of the UAE talks, alongside potential representation from Finland, Norway, and Poland.
Zelensky warns against prioritizing global security restructuring
The president also cautioned against US efforts to bring Russia into talks by prioritizing discussions over a new post-war global and European security architecture ahead of ending active hostilities.
“In my opinion, this can be dangerous. I have spoken about this before and warned our team about it too. This should not be the main agenda, and it should not come from Ukraine,” Zelensky said, noting that Moscow is eager to rewrite European security rules to its advantage.
Zelensky insisted that negotiations must follow a strict sequence: establishing a ceasefire, ending Russia’s war against Ukraine, and securing binding security guarantees for Kyiv before addressing wider continental frameworks.
“Ukraine has already been a part of Europe for a long time. There are no security guarantees in Europe and for Europe without Ukraine. It is simply impossible,” Zelensky stressed.
“You cannot turn everything upside down and first talk about changing the security structure in the world or on the continent as a whole, and only then talk about ending this war and security guarantees for Ukraine. First, this war must be ended.”
Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.