Russia, Ukraine report progress in peace talks

Prisoner exchange agreed, but territorial disputes and lack of trust remain

ABU DHABI:

Russia and Ukraine reported some progress after two days of US-brokered peace talks in Abu Dhabi, agreeing to a major prisoner-of-war exchange, but deep divisions over territory and a lack of trust continued to hamper efforts to end the war.

The talks, the first between the sides in nine months, produced few concrete announcements beyond the prisoner exchange. US envoy Jared Kushner acknowledged that there was no trust between the two sides, adding that territorial issues would be the hardest to resolve.

Kushner and fellow US envoy Steve Witkoff are due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday before travelling to Ireland for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia described the discussions as difficult but said they had created momentum towards a possible solution by the end of the year. Russia's chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, also said a peace deal appeared closer, while reiterating Moscow's territorial demands.

Fighting continued during the negotiations, with Ukrainian officials reporting Russian strikes on six major electricity substations and a market attack in the Odesa region that killed three people. Russian authorities said a Ukrainian drone attack killed one person in the Belgorod region.

Territory remains the central obstacle, with Kyiv rejecting Moscow's demand to surrender the entire Donbas region.