Zelensky: “We expect an exchange of prisoners of war”
Given the ongoing talks with Moscow and Washington in Abu Dhabi, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expects an exchange of prisoners of war soon. In his evening video message, he said there would be an important step – towards the exchange of prisoners. The Kiev chief negotiator Rustem Umjerow had previously spoken of a prisoner exchange. (dpa)
Mistrust accompanies Ukraine peace talks
Parallel to the peace talks More diplomatic efforts are underway in Abu Dhabi. According to French diplomats, President Emmanuel Macron’s most important adviser, Emmanuel Bonne, met with government representatives in Moscow on Tuesday. The aim is to maintain dialogue on key issues, especially Ukraine. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed cautious optimism in Washington on Wednesday: “I don’t want to say that the talks alone are progress, but it’s good that there is commitment.”
The first day of US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi was assessed by the Ukrainian side as substantial and productive. In addition to the delegations from Kiev and Moscow, US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, are also taking part. The talks are scheduled to continue this Thursday.
However, the negotiations will of heavy fighting and mutual distrust. The government in Kyiv accuses Moscow of using a US-backed ceasefire last week to increase its ammunition stocks. The positions of the warring parties are still far apart. Moscow is demanding the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the entire Donetsk region as a precondition for an agreement. Kyiv rejects this and instead calls for a freeze of the conflict along the current front line. (rtr)
Zelensky: 55,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has estimated the official losses of his own troops since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression almost four years ago at 55,000 soldiers killed. This also included professional soldiers and mobilized people, he told the French broadcaster France2. In addition, there are a large number of missing people, said the head of state, who was fighting back tears.
While both warring parties report enemy losses every day, they very rarely provide their own casualty figures. It is certain that both Russia’s leadership and Ukraine’s leadership are downplaying their own losses and increasing those of their opponents. In an interview a year ago, Zelenskyj estimated Ukrainian losses at more than 45,000 soldiers killed and 390,000 injured since the start of the war. According to his new statements, this would have added 9,000 soldiers killed within a year. When exchanging the bodies of killed soldiers alone, Ukraine has received the remains of more than 16,500 fallen soldiers back from Russia since 2025. (dpa)
Think tank: Russian losses many times higher
At the end of January, a report by the US think tank CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies) estimated losses of 500,000 to 600,000 soldiers in Ukraine alone since the war began in February 2022, including 100,000 to 140,000 dead. The losses on the Russian side were put at 1.2 million soldiers, including 325,000 dead. According to its own statements, CSIS relies on information from the military, secret services and governments of various countries.
There are also attempts to count deaths of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers based on funerals, obituaries and social media posts. At the end of January, the Russian news portal Mediazona estimated that at least 168,000 Russian soldiers were confirmed to have been killed. On the Ukrainian website ualosses.org The number was given as 87,000 dead soldiers, 86,000 missing and 4,400 Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia. However, the creators of both websites assume that their counts are incomplete because many deaths are not reported. If the death of a Ukrainian soldier in combat is recognized, relatives will receive 15 million hryvnia, the equivalent of around 294,000 euros. (dpa)
Two injured after drone attack on Kyiv
According to authorities, two people were injured in Russian drone attacks during the night on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. A 79-year-old woman was taken to hospital and an 89-year-old was treated as an outpatient, the police said on Telegram. Accordingly, the drones struck the western district of Solomyanka and damaged several blocks of flats. Damage was also reported in other districts of the metropolis of three million people. Among other things, it hit residential buildings and a large parking lot. (dpa)
Ukraine warns of further power outages after attacks
Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal warned the population on Wednesday that the planned power cuts would be tightened in the coming days. There is also a risk that the Russian armed forces could resume air strikes in order to further paralyze the electricity and heating networks, said Shmyhal. The energy supply situation remains very difficult. More than 200 emergency teams are deployed in the capital Kyiv to restore heat supplies after the Russian attacks in January. According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, more than 1,100 buildings were still without heating on Tuesday. Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said 217 Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy system have been recorded since the beginning of the year. (rtr)
Russia: Almost six years in prison for joke about veterans
In Russia, a comedian was sentenced to almost six years in a prison camp for, among other things, a joke about a war veteran. A Moscow court found stand-up comedian Artemi Ostanin guilty on Wednesday of “inciting hatred” and “insulting believers” in connection with another joke about religion. The total sentence is five years and nine months in prison in a penal colony, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti quoted the judge as saying. The comedian was also sentenced to a fine of the equivalent of 3,300 euros.
At a stand-up show in March 2025, he told a joke about a war veteran: he was bumped into in the subway by a “legless skateboarder,” an “idiot who stepped on a mine,” said Ostanin, without directly mentioning the Ukraine conflict. The 29-year-old denied that the joke referred to veterans of “military special operations” – as Moscow calls the war in Ukraine.
After his arrest last year, Russian authorities added Ostanin to their list of “terrorists” and “extremists” – labels Moscow regularly uses to suppress dissent and target opponents. (afp)