Ukraine war live: Putin and Kyiv to swap 314 prisoners after ‘productive’ peace talks

Two days of US-brokered peace talks between Ukraine and Russia that wrapped up in Abu Dhabi on Thursday were « really constructive, » the top aide to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was quoted as saying.

« The negotiations were really constructive, » Kyrylo Budanov said, cited by RBC-Ukraine media.

« I am grateful to the United States and the UAE for the quality organisation and mediation. »

President Zelensky said the talks will continue in the near future.

Starlink internet terminals used by Russian troops in Ukraine have been deactivated by Ukraine, Kyiv’s defence minister said on Thursday.

Defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov said on that Ukraine would continue to compile a list of verified terminals that are authorized for operations.

The first batch on that list was already operational, he said.

Negotiators from Moscow and Kyiv on Thursday held a second day of U.S.-brokered talks in Abu Dhabi on ending their war amid an escalation in Russia’s winter attacks on Ukraine’s power grid and after a sharp rise last year in Ukrainian civilians killed in the fighting.

“We are working in the same formats as yesterday: trilateral consultations, group work, and further synchronization of positions,” said Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council chief, who was present at the meeting.

The delegations from Moscow and Kyiv were joined in the capital of the United Arab Emirates by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, according to Umerov. They were also at last month’s talks in the same place as the Trump administration tries to steer the two countries toward a settlement.

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Moscow has reportedly confirmed the prisoner of war swap announced earlier by US envoy Steve Witkoff.

Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 157 prisoners of war each, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on Thursday, citing the defence ministry.

Three civilians from the Kursk region were returned to Russia as part of the swap, the ministry said.

Russian attacks on Wednesday killed twelve people and injured 29, local authorities said according to a tally by Ukrainian outlet Ukrainska Pravda.

Eight people were killed in the eastern Donetsk region, seven in the town of Druzhkivka in a strike on a market and apartment blocks, and one in Lyman, the governor of Donetsk, Vadym Filashkin, said.

At least 21 people were injured in those attacks.

Four people were killed and five injured in attacks on the southern Kherson region, including on the city of Kherson, and a further three people were injured in then Polohy district of the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region.

Ukrainian, US and Russian delegations have agreed to exchange 314 prisoners, US president Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff announced in a post on X on Thursday.

“Today, delegations from the United States, Ukraine, and Russia agreed to exchange 314 prisoners—the first such exchange in five months,” he said, as the trilateral talks continued for a second day.

“This outcome was achieved from peace talks that have been detailed and productive. While significant work remains, steps like this demonstrate that sustained diplomatic engagement is delivering tangible results and advancing efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

Mr Witkoff added that discussions “will continue, with additional progress anticipated in the coming weeks”.

Ukraine’s military said on Thursday it had carried out a series of « successful » strikes at the infrastructure of a Russian intermediate-range ballistic missile launch site in January.

Ukraine’s general staff said in a statement that some buildings were damaged, one hangar was « significantly » damaged and some personnel was evacuated from the Kapustin Yar test range near the Caspian Sea. It did not provide the dates of the attacks.

The military added it used its long-range capabilities to carry out the strikes, including the Ukrainian-made Flamingo missile.

The Kremlin said on Thursday that it could neither confirm nor deny reports that French president Emmanuel Macron’s top diplomat had visited Moscow this week.

Macron’s most senior diplomat was in Moscow on Tuesday to hold talks with Russian officials, said a French source who was aware of the meeting and two diplomatic sources.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that French sources were fond of leaking to the media.

On Wednesday, Peskov confirmed that working level talks between Russia and France were under way, after the French leader said he was looking at resuming contact with Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine.

Peskov said there was nothing to announce for now when it came to a possible conversation between Putin and Macron.