MOSCOW/KYIV — The second round of peace talks concluded on Thursday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, with Russia and Ukraine agreeing to a large-scale prisoner exchange, but failing to achieve substantive breakthroughs on core issues such as territorial arrangements and a ceasefire.

The talks ended without a joint political or security statement, underscoring persistent differences between Russia and Ukraine on key issues, including territorial disputes, ceasefire arrangements, and security guarantees.

US President's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff described the discussions as "specific and constructive". He added, however, that greater efforts would be required to advance a comprehensive settlement of the conflict.

Following the talks, Russia and Ukraine conducted their first large-scale prisoner exchange in nearly five months, with each side returning 157 detainees.

The Russian Defence Ministry said it brought 157 Russian servicemen back from Ukrainian captivity, as well as three Russian nationals captured during Kyiv's incursion into Russia's Kursk region.

The ministry said the released Russian soldiers are currently in Belarus, getting medical assistance, before being taken back to Russia "for treatment and rehabilitation".

Ukrainian officials said 157 people returned from Russian captivity. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said those released included both military personnel and civilians.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament commissioner for human rights, said that "overall, those released are in a difficult psychological condition, and some are critically underweight".

No timetable or arrangements for the next round of talks were announced, highlighting continued uncertainty in the political settlement process.

Zelensky said on Thursday that the next peace talks with the delegations of the US and Russia will be held soon. "Further meetings are planned in the near future, likely in the United States," Zelensky said in his evening address.

Meanwhile, the US and Russia agreed on Thursday to reestablish high-level military dialogue for the first time in more than four years, another sign of warming relations between the two countries since US President Donald Trump returned to office.

The restored communication channel "will provide a consistent military-to-military contact as the parties continue to work toward a lasting peace", the US European Command said in a statement.

The agreement emerged from a meeting between senior Russian and US military officials in the capital of the UAE.

Conflicts continue

With the next round of talks on hold, conflicts continue in the region.

Nighttime shelling by Ukraine inflicted "serious damage" in the Russian city of Belgorod, near the border, the region's governor said early on Friday.

Valentin Demidov, the mayor of Russia's Belgorod, said that a Ukrainian missile strike had caused "significant damage to infrastructure" and cut power, heat and water to some parts of the city.

On the same day, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine of being behind an assassination attempt on a top Russian general in Moscow. A senior Russian military officer was rushed to the hospital earlier after being shot, investigators said.

In Ukraine, a couple was killed in an overnight drone strike in the Zaporizhzhia region, a Ukrainian official said on Friday.

The 49-year-old man and 48-year-old woman died when their home was struck, regional military chief Ivan Fedorov said.

Preliminary information indicated another Russian attack on the outer suburbs of Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, with no immediate reports of casualties, regional military head Oleh Syniehubov said.

Agencies Via Xinhua