Zelenskyy Details “1,500 for 1,500” Exchange Proposals in Abu Dhabi
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Tuesday that negotiations in Abu Dhabi have advanced plans for a large-scale prisoner exchange, with formulas of “1000 for 1000″ or “1500 for 1500″ currently on the table.
“Today we discussed the possibility of an exchange. They want to do a thousand for a thousand, maybe a thousand five hundred for a thousand five hundred. Some big exchange,” Zelenskyy stated at a press conference following the first round of three-way talks involving Ukraine, the USA, and Russia.
He added, “With this agenda, the Americans will go to Russia.” This disclosure followed an initial round that concluded with an agreement to conduct a “large-scale exchange of prisoners in the near future.”
Diplomatic Push Centers on Humanitarian Track and European Allies
The discussions in the United Arab Emirates represent a major diplomatic effort, putting the humanitarian track at the forefront of the session. Head of the Presidential Office Kyrylo Budanov stated that a key focus of the negotiations is to intensify prisoner exchanges.
Zelenskyy stated the team's clear mandate regarding the exchange and said European involvement is necessary.
“It was very important that there were representatives of Europe,” he said.
Previous Captive Returns and the Scale of Upcoming Demands
The newly proposed figures would dwarf the October 23 operation, which returned “270 for 270” captives. Historical data shows Ukraine has secured the return of 9,726 adults from Russian captivity to date, comprising 8,823 prisoners of war and 903 civilians. An additional 2,573 Ukrainian children have also been brought home.
The Ukrainian delegation in Abu Dhabi is headed by Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service Rustem Umerov, and also includes Head of the Presidential Office Kyrylo Budanov, chairman of the “Servant of the People” faction David Arakhmia, deputy head of the OP Serhiy Kyslytsia, and deputy head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense Vadym Skibytskyi.
Yet the talks stretch far beyond humanitarian relief into heavy geopolitical territory. Zelenskyy revealed that the Russian side raised the question of territories, asserting that such matters belong strictly at the highest level.
“The second question was about territories, it was raised by the Russians. This is a question for the level of leaders—our negotiators have such a mandate,” he explained. He also noted that the question of NATO and the EU was raised during the negotiations.
Wednesday's Agenda Pushes into De-Escalation and Energy Security
Wednesday’s agenda, set for November 11, will push deeper into de-escalation measures, energy security, the Black Sea situation, and the possibility of a three-way leaders’ meeting.
