Kathrine Frich
Prisoners of war often endure months or years of isolation, uncertainty and fear, cut off from their families and normal life.
Many return home physically weakened and emotionally scarred by captivity.
For some on both sides of the Ukraine war, that ordeal has now come to an end.
Exchange agreed
Ukraine and Russia concluded a new round of U.S.-brokered negotiations on Thursday in Abu Dhabi. According to Reuters, cited by News.ro, the talks resulted in a major prisoner exchange.
Each side released 314 prisoners of war, making it the first exchange in five months and the first such deal this year.
The swap took place the same day the talks were held.
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said delegations from Washington, Kyiv and Moscow had jointly agreed to the exchange.
Human cost
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said some of the freed Ukrainian prisoners had been held for nearly four years.
He described the exchange as an important humanitarian moment but stressed that it did not end the conflict.
A video released by Ukraine’s presidency showed dozens of returning prisoners stepping off buses in snowy conditions, many wrapped in Ukrainian flags.
Some were seen embracing each other, while others spoke tearfully with relatives by phone.
Previous negotiations last year, held in Turkey, also resulted mainly in prisoner swaps, which analysts say have been the only tangible outcomes of peace talks so far.
Diplomatic tone
Witkoff wrote on X that “The discussions were constructive and focused on how to create the conditions for a lasting peace.”
He added that the talks “demonstrate that sustained diplomatic engagement yields tangible results and advances efforts to end the war in Ukraine.”
Zelensky said Ukraine supports any diplomatic format “that can realistically bring peace closer and make it reliable, durable, and of such a nature as to deprive Russia of the desire to continue the fight.”
Speaking alongside Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, he said the negotiations addressed key disagreements between the two sides.
Talks and war
Russia’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev said there had been progress and positive developments.
He also said efforts were underway to rebuild US-Russia relations, including through a joint working group on economic issues.
Despite the talks, fighting continues along the roughly 1,200-kilometre front line.
Ukrainian officials said Russia carried out major air strikes earlier this week, followed by drone attacks.
Zelensky reiterated that any deal must include strong security guarantees for Ukraine.
Moscow, meanwhile, continues to demand that Ukrainian forces withdraw from contested regions, a position Kyiv rejects.
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Sources: Reuters, News.ro, Digi24
