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Gordon says prisoner-swap agreement emerged from otherwise deadlocked talks

The Ukrainian journalist describes a humanitarian result in Abu Dhabi while arguing that Moscow's territorial demands leave little prospect of a wider settlement.

Channel: 24 Kanal ·

UkraineStory of November 13, 2026Trari Newsroom

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4:00Gordon says the Abu Dhabi talks produced an agreement to exchange up to 1,500 prisoners on each side.
8:00He interprets Medinsky's territorial demands as bargaining tactics intended to raise the stakes.
20:00Gordon argues that no Ukrainian president would agree to give up Ukrainian territory.
24:00Bilan lists nine reportedly attacked Russian refineries; Gordon predicts worsening fuel problems.
28:25The discussion considers Starshield restrictions and possible US pressure on Kyiv, which Gordon argues will not prove decisive.
38:00Gordon interprets proposed Russian nonaggression pacts with individual NATO countries as an attempt to divide the alliance.

An agreement to exchange up to 1,500 prisoners on each side is the main concrete result Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Gordon identifies from the Abu Dhabi talks. His assessment of the wider peace negotiations is much bleaker: he describes them as deeply deadlocked.

Speaking with presenter Olha Bilan on Ukraine's Channel 24 (24 Канал), Gordon separates the potential return of prisoners from progress toward ending Russia's war in Ukraine. He presents the exchange agreement as a major humanitarian achievement, but says he cannot see how the broader negotiations will succeed.

The broadcast opens with footage of Donald Trump's representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arriving at Moscow's Vnukovo airport, where Russian official Kirill Dmitriev greets them. Bilan says they have come to discuss the Abu Dhabi results with President Vladimir Putin. Witkoff is a US special envoy for peace missions; Kushner has held official and informal roles in Trump's administrations.

After playing Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky's remarks about territorial claims, Gordon interprets Moscow's demands as an attempt to raise the stakes before a possible compromise. But he also argues that no Ukrainian president would agree to abandon Ukrainian territory. That leaves a gap between what he sees as Russian bargaining tactics and any settlement Kyiv could accept.

Gordon's military and economic assessments underpin his argument for maintaining pressure. He says Russian forces face difficulties replacing troops and equipment, and contends that attacks on Ukrainian cities have not changed battlefield realities. He also predicts serious domestic resistance to another Russian mobilization.

Bilan lists nine Russian oil refineries she says were attacked by drones over the preceding two weeks. Gordon argues that damage to refining capacity, alongside budget pressures and war spending, could deepen Russia's fuel problems.

The later discussion considers potential US pressure on Kyiv and technical restrictions involving the Starshield satellite system. Gordon dismisses the prospect that such difficulties will prove decisive, without setting out a detailed solution.

Finally, Bilan raises Russian proposals for nonaggression agreements with individual NATO countries. Gordon sees these as an effort to divide the alliance. Citing Moscow's record on agreements including the Budapest Memorandum, he argues that negotiations must be backed by strength rather than concessions.