UAE brokers Ukraine-Russia swap for 350 prisoners: What we know

The United Arab Emirates brokered a prisoners-of-war exchange between Ukraine and Russia on Wednesday amid intensified Gulf efforts to mediate between the two warring states.

The official Emirates News Agency reported that 175 captives from each country were returned home. The exchange brings the total number of people returned home from Ukraine and Russia via Emirati mediation efforts to 3,233, per the agency.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X that another 22 “defenders” are on their way back to Ukraine "through measures beyond exchanges,” and he thanked the UAE for its efforts. The Russian Defense Ministry said the 22 prisoners it released were seriously injured.

The exchange followed US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin's discussing the war on Tuesday. Putin agreed to halt attacks on energy infrastructure after the call, but stopped short of accepting a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the United States and Ukraine following talks in Saudi Arabia last week. Russia and Ukraine exchanged attacks on Wednesday, damaging each country’s infrastructure, according to reports.

Why it matters: Efforts by the UAE and Saudi Arabia to mediate between Russia and Ukraine have intensified in recent weeks. US and Ukrainian officials met in Saudi Arabia last week and unveiled the ceasefire proposal.

In February, US and Russian officials held talks in Saudi Arabia on the war and on bilateral relations between Washington and Moscow. The sit-down constituted the highest-level talks between the two countries since 2023.

Zelenskyy visited the UAE last month, a day before the US-Russia talks in Riyadh. He discussed economic ties as well as the prisoner exchanges with Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Upon his arrival to Abu Dhabi, Zelenskyy said, “Our top priority is bringing even more of our people home from captivity.” 

The UAE maintains friendly relations with both Ukraine and Russia. The UAE and Ukraine finalized a trade deal last month during Zekenskyy’s visit. Bilateral trade between the two countries reportedly amounted to $372.4 million in 2024.

Sheikh Mohamed last visited Russia in October, and the UAE and Russia signed a strategic partnership in 2018. Bilateral non-oil trade exceeded $11 billion in 2023, up from $2.5 billion in 2018, Sheikh Mohamed said during the visit.

Saudi Arabia could host more talks in the future. Following a call with Trump on Wednesday, Zelenskyy said that the two sides would meet soon to discuss the implementation of the ceasefire.

“Ukrainian and American teams are ready to meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to continue coordinating steps toward peace,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and national security adviser Mike Waltz said in a statement following the call with Zelenskyy that technical teams would meet in Saudi Arabia “in the coming days” to discuss the ceasefire efforts.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar have likewise mediated exchanges between Russia and Ukraine. Qatar brokered a deal in November whereby nine children in total were reunited with their families in Russia and Ukraine. In 2022, Saudi Arabia mediated a prisoner swap of nearly 300 people, including 10 foreigners.

Know more: The US readout from the Trump-Putin call noted that the leaders discussed the situation in the Middle East, including the conflict between Iran and Israel.

“The two leaders shared the view that Iran should never be in a position to destroy Israel,” read the statement.

The Kremlin said the two presidents discussed “the situation in the Middle East and in the Red Sea region” but did not mention Iran or Israel.