Witkoff Announces US-Mediated Prisoner Swap Agreement Reached in Abu Dhabi

Russia, Ukraine, and the United States reached an agreement on a prisoner exchange during negotiations held in Abu Dhabi. Steve Witkoff, special envoy of President Donald Trump, announced the deal on the social media platform X.

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org by President Of Ukraine, https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Exchange of prisoners event with people welcoming them home in Ukraine on 23 May 2025 - 17

"Today, delegations from the United States, Ukraine, and Russia agreed to exchange 314 prisoners—the first such exchange in five months,” he wrote.

Witkoff noted that the parties achieved this result thanks to detailed and productive negotiations.

US and UAE Acted as Mediators

The United States and the United Arab Emirates acted as intermediaries in the prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

"During the return of Russian servicemen from captivity, the United Arab Emirates and the United States provided humanitarian mediation efforts,”

the ministry said.

Russia and Ukraine Conducted Exchange on February 5

On February 5, Russia and Ukraine carried out another prisoner exchange. The Russian Ministry of Defense informed journalists about the exchange.

The ministry clarified that 157 Russian servicemen returned from Ukrainian-controlled territory. Russia transferred the same number of Ukrainian prisoners to Kyiv in return.

Russian servicemen currently remain in the territory of the Republic of Belarus, where they are receiving necessary psychological and medical assistance. In addition, Russia secured the return of three civilians from the Kursk Region.

The statement emphasized once again that the United Arab Emirates and the United States provided humanitarian mediation.