US envoys plan Moscow and Dublin meetings after Abu Dhabi talks

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner plan to fly to Moscow on Thursday 12 November to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kushner told a news conference in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday 11 November: "After that we're going to fly to Dublin and we're going to be with President Zelensky to debrief with him and further explore some of the ideas that we came up with here today." Neither meeting has taken place. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov did not confirm the date: asked whether the talks could be on Thursday or Friday, he said only that they would happen "in the near future", Interfax reported. Kushner gave no date for the Dublin stop in the remarks reported from the Abu Dhabi news conference.

The announcement followed two days of US-mediated talks between Russia and Ukraine that ended with no breakthrough on a ceasefire or territory, Euronews and CNN reported. Euronews and AP described them as the first face-to-face talks between the two delegations in nine months. The first day lasted about four hours and the second about two, Interfax-Ukraine reported. TheJournal.ie reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected in Dublin on Thursday for a European summit.

One agreement, one open question

The one concrete result is a prisoner exchange agreed in principle. Kushner said: "One of the positives is we agreed that we're going to have the biggest humanitarian release of prisoners, which we're going to finalise the numbers tomorrow." Russia's Medinsky said the sides "have agreed in principle on a new large-scale prisoner exchange", Meduza reported. Rustem Umerov, Ukraine's chief negotiator, confirmed it. Neither side gave a date or scale, Euronews noted, and no prisoners had been released.

The size is unconfirmed. Zelenskyy said on Tuesday 10 November that the aim was "1,000 for 1,000, maybe 1,500 for 1,500". TASS, cited by Al Jazeera, reported the exchange should happen in two to three weeks. Al Jazeera reported in May 2025 that the 1,000-for-1,000 swap agreed then would be the biggest such exchange since the war began, so a new one would need to top that to claim the title.

Territory has not moved. Euronews reported that Russia still insists Ukraine withdraw from the part of eastern Donbas it holds. Zelenskyy said the Russians raised territory and that "this is a matter for the leaders". Medinsky said the sides had found "mutual understanding in some areas, but not in others", Meduza reported. Ukraine's Arakhamia called the round "one of the most difficult" and said the Russians came with "very, very strict instructions".

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Five markers will show whether the process moves beyond the prisoner channel. First, whether the Moscow meeting produces a confirmed prisoner number and date. Second, whether Putin shows any movement on a European role. Third, what Zelenskyy says after the Dublin debrief. Fourth, whether another round is scheduled. Arakhamia said one could follow the Moscow and Dublin meetings, and spoke of "good momentum" toward a solution before the end of the year. Fifth, whether the talks lead to any meeting of leaders. Kushner said Russia wants more progress first. AP reported that Witkoff and Kushner proposed a three-way meeting of the US, Russia and Ukraine at the technical level when Witkoff met Putin, with Kushner joining by video, in St Petersburg in October. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said then that Moscow would listen but rule out "any political concessions".