OMM Newsroom
Ukraine and Russia are discussing a large-scale prisoner exchange involving 1,200-1,300 people from each side, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday, calling it the “main outcome” of recent talks in Abu Dhabi. Anadolu Agency reported his remarks.
Speaking at a news conference in Kyiv after visits to Denmark and Ireland, Zelenskyy said the negotiations also covered the possibility of an energy ceasefire. Russian delegates told their Ukrainian counterparts they did not have the authority to decide on the matter, he said.
Zelenskyy said he saw little indication that Moscow was interested in halting attacks on energy infrastructure. Ukraine had proposed discussing the issue in talks between the two presidents, but Russian President Vladimir Putin had shown no readiness to meet, he added.
Putin also raised a proposed “humanitarian mission” in Kostiantynivka. Zelenskyy rejected the proposal, saying fighting was ongoing in the city and warning that Russian forces could move on to Kramatorsk and Sloviansk after capturing it.
The Ukrainian president said the US side had, for the first time, asked whether Kyiv would be prepared to withdraw from Donbas in exchange for NATO membership. Zelenskyy reiterated that Ukraine would not voluntarily give up its territory, but said he would put such a proposal to Ukrainian society if it included a comprehensive security package.
He said that package would need concrete security guarantees from NATO and the EU, a strong Ukrainian military supplied with the necessary weapons and funding, and a fully financed plan for the country’s reconstruction.
“If the American side confirms exactly this to us, together with other NATO colleagues, then I will ask our society’s opinion – do we accept or not?” he said.
Zelenskyy ruled out recognising occupied territories as Russian and said Ukraine would not agree to enshrine a neutral status in its constitution.
“Enshrining neutrality means changing your country’s constitution, and Ukraine will not do that,” he said.
He reiterated Kyiv’s position on the sequence of steps toward a settlement: the war must end first, followed by security guarantees for Ukraine, with any further arrangements discussed only afterward.
Zelenskyy called for European countries to join Ukraine, Russia and the US in the next round of negotiations. Kyiv expects its European partners to decide by the end of November who will represent Europe at the talks, he said.
On military needs, Zelenskyy said Ukraine needed to have 2.5 times as many F-16 fighter jets airborne at once as it currently operates. He also listed urgent needs ahead of winter, including fuel, generators and buses for Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
He said his visits to Denmark and Ireland focused on securing winter support, including air defence and energy assistance. Denmark announced new defence and energy packages worth €645 million ($750 million) and €20 million ($23 million), respectively, while the UK announced further sanctions against Russia’s oil sector, he said.
In Dublin, Zelenskyy also met US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Ukraine is working with the EU to close its two remaining negotiating clusters by the end of the year and accelerate the next stages of its EU accession process in 2027, Zelenskyy said. He discussed the issue with European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
His schedule also included talks with the prime ministers of Ireland, Poland, Italy and the Czech Republic, as well as the president of Lithuania.
