Ushakov after Putin’s meeting with Witkoff and Kushner: support for a new large prisoner exchange and a humanitarian operation in Kostiantynivka

Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov announced support for a new exchange of prisoners of war, most likely the largest so far, and for a humanitarian operation in Kostiantynivka, after Vladimir Putin’s meeting with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow on Thursday, November 12. In his statement, published on the Kremlin’s official website, he described the discussion as “substantive, constructive, frank and useful”. These are the Russian side’s claims.

A new exchange, “most likely the largest”

The Americans briefed the Russian president on the trilateral contacts of November 10 and 11 in Abu Dhabi, which Moscow and Washington assess, according to Ushakov, as constructive and productive. Dialogue in this format will continue. The proposal discussed in Abu Dhabi for a new prisoner exchange was backed; it will be, he said, “most likely the largest”. The details are still under negotiation. Ushakov recalled that since 2025 there have been 35 exchanges, with about 5,000 people from each side. We covered the end of the Abu Dhabi talks earlier.

Kostiantynivka, European security and foreign troops

Ushakov said the Americans actively supported Putin’s proposal for a humanitarian operation in Kostiantynivka similar to the one in Oleshky. Moscow, he added, is ready to begin demining at once and will invite journalists from Ukraine, Europe and the US, so that it can be seen “under whose control” the city really is. Contacts with American representatives were agreed to prepare it.

On the political side, Putin again backed the American idea of dealing with the security issues of Russia and Ukraine within a future post-war European security system. Moscow is restating its 2021 positions: no NATO enlargement, no deployment of threatening weapon systems near Russian borders and a return of the Alliance’s forces to the posture in place when the NATO–Russia Founding Act was signed. For the Europeans, Ushakov conveyed Putin’s position that they “must decide whether they want peace or the continuation of the war”, and called the deployment of foreign forces of the “coalition of the willing” in Ukraine after the war “a recipe for endless war”.

Next stop: Shenzhen

The discussion will continue at the Putin–Trump meeting at the APEC summit in Shenzhen. Both sides, Ushakov said, attach great importance to the trilateral summit that the Chinese APEC hosts are organising there, and he added that intensive work is under way on its content.

From Moscow, Witkoff and Kushner flew to Dublin, where they will meet Volodymyr Zelensky and representatives of European governments. Ushakov expressed the hope that “the messages from Moscow will be conveyed to them carefully”, and said there will be new contact with the two Americans before the meeting of the two presidents in China. For Zelensky’s side, see our report on his visit to Dublin.