Ukraine war latest: 'Large-scale' prisoner exchange agreed as 2nd day of Abu Dhabi talks concludes, Umerov says

Key developments on Nov. 11:

• 'Large-scale' prisoner exchange agreed as 2nd day of Abu Dhabi talks concludes, Umerov says
• Zelensky reveals when Ukraine expects first delivery of Swedish Gripen fighter jets
• Russia strikes 6 major power substations, causing outages across Ukraine
• Hackers target Ukraine's state news agency Ukrinform, replace website with anti-Ukrainian messages
• Ukrainian drones reportedly target Russia's largest oil refinery, strike Baltic Sea port, missile boat
• Russian strike on crowded market in Odesa Oblast kills at least 4, injures 8

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a new "large-scale" prisoner exchange as the second day of peace talks in Abu Dhabi concluded on Nov. 11, Ukrainian and Russian officials confirmed.

"The main result is that we managed to reach an agreement on a large-scale prisoner exchange. We are now working to agree on the details and practical implementation," Ukrainian lead negotiator Rustem Umerov said.

"Bringing our people home remains one of our main priorities. We are doing everything possible to ensure that every Ukrainian returns from captivity as soon as possible," he added.

The exchange was also confirmed by Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who is leading Russia's delegation.

"We reached a fundamental agreement on another large-scale prisoner exchange. Details will be announced soon," Medinsky told reporters after the second day of talks concluded.

Citing Russian General Alexander Zorin, Russian state news agency TASS claimed that the exchange "will be the largest ever, involving more than 1,000 people on each side."

A day earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the two sides had discussed the possibility of a prisoner exchange in a 1,000-for-1,000 or 1,500-for-1,500 format.

Neither Kyiv nor Moscow has disclosed the exact number of people who could be included in the upcoming exchange or when it might take place.

A similar 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange took place in May 2025, following an agreement reached during Ukrainian-Russian talks in Istanbul.

The exchange took place over three days, from May 23 to 25. During the first stage, on May 23, 390 Ukrainians returned home, including 270 military personnel and 120 civilians. Another 307 Ukrainian service members were released the following day, May 24. The final stage took place on May 25, when 303 Ukrainian military personnel returned from Russian captivity.

The most recent prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine took place on Oct. 23, when 270 people returned to Ukraine, including 261 military personnel and nine civilians. The same number of people were transferred to Russia.

The latest swap was the 11th reported prisoner exchange of 2026. The previous two exchanges took place in August.

Zelensky reveals when Ukraine expects first delivery of Swedish Gripen fighter jets

Ukraine expects to receive its first Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets in early 2027, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a press conference in Copenhagen on Nov. 10.

"They should arrive in January-February, possibly in February. We have raised the issue that we need them as quickly as possible. But, so to speak, the process is already underway," Zelensky said.

The transfer would further expand Ukraine's fleet of Western-supplied fighter aircraft, which already includes American F-16s and French Mirage 2000s but remains insufficient to fully defend Ukrainian cities and infrastructure from daily Russian strikes.

Kyiv has urged its partners to speed up aircraft deliveries, which are expected to strengthen Ukraine's air defense capabilities, including its ability to intercept Russian attack drones, Zelensky said.

Zelensky also stressed Ukraine's need for additional F-16 fighter jets and ammunition for them, noting that many of the country's existing F-16s regularly require repairs due to their age.

The expected deliveries follow Sweden's announcement in May 2026 that it would provide Ukraine with 16 used Saab JAS 39 Gripen C/D fighter jets and support Kyiv in procuring up to 20 newer Gripen E aircraft.

Deliveries of the 16 aircraft are scheduled to begin in early 2029, with funding provided through the European Union's Ukraine Support Loan mechanism and support from the U.K.

Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson also said in May that Ukrainian pilots had already begun training on Swedish fighter jets, adding that the program would be expanded in the fall.

The planned deliveries come as Russia's expanding use of attack drones continues to put pressure on Ukraine's air defenses.

Russia strikes 6 major power substations, causing outages across Ukraine

Russian forces struck six major power substations in four Ukrainian oblasts overnight on Nov. 10-11, damaging power lines and disrupting electricity supplies across the country.

The strikes marked a second consecutive night of attacks on major energy infrastructure.

Substations were hit in Vinnytsia, Kirovohrad, Zhytomyr and Cherkasy oblasts. Power lines were also damaged in Kirovohrad and Rivne oblasts, Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said.

The attacks put further pressure on Ukraine’s power grid ahead of winter, when demand for electricity and heating typically increases. Damage to major substations can disrupt supplies over large areas, including regions far from the sites directly hit.

State grid operator Ukrenergo reported outages affecting some consumers in Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Rivne, Kharkiv, Odesa, and Chernihiv oblasts. Emergency repair crews are working to restore supplies, while emergency outages remain in effect in Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.

The impact is also being felt in the capital. Kyiv will temporarily switch off municipal streetlights to save electricity amid shortages caused by Russian attacks on energy infrastructure. The measure is intended to reserve power for essential city facilities, municipal utility Kyivmisksvitlo said.

The measure applies only to streetlights and does not affect power outage schedules for homes. Lights connected to public warning systems may remain on when electricity is available, until 10 p.m.

In the southeastern city of Kryvyi Rih, Russian forces also struck a district heating facility, disrupting heat supplies to residential buildings. Repair crews are working to restore heating, Koretskyi said.

Hackers target Ukraine's state news agency Ukrinform, replace website with anti-Ukrainian messages

Hackers targeted Ukraine's state news agency Ukrinform, replacing its website's homepage with anti-Ukrainian imagery and compromising its account on social media platform X, the agency said on Nov. 11.

In an official statement, Ukrinform said specialists were investigating the attack, assessing its consequences, and working to restore the agency's services.

The hackers replaced the agency's homepage with the word ZELENET, an image of a crossed-out Ukrainian flag, and a link to a Telegram channel. Ukrinform's account on X was also renamed ZELENET, while its biography was changed to include a pro-Russian slogan.

The agency said it was cooperating with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection to strengthen its cybersecurity defenses.

Ukrinform's Director General Serhii Cherevatyi told Ukrainska Pravda that the agency had faced several cyberattacks in recent months, adding that attackers were increasingly using sophisticated methods, including artificial intelligence.

"The enemy is also constantly improving, so we are trying to respond as quickly as possible," Cherevatyi said.

The incident follows a series of cyberattacks targeting Ukrainian media outlets this month.

Ukrainian drones reportedly target Russia's largest oil refinery, strike Baltic Sea port, missile boat

Ukrainian drones targeted Russia's largest oil refinery in the Siberian city of Omsk, hours after a separate attack struck the the Ust-Luga Baltic Sea port and a missile boat in Russia's western Leningrad Oblast, Russian officials and Ukrainian monitoring channels reported on Nov. 11.

Residents of Omsk reported explosions and a suspected strike on the oil refinery, with the drone attack lasting more than two hours, according to The Moscow Times and Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova Plus. Omsk Oblast Governor Vitaly Khotsenko confirmed a Ukrainian drone attack on the region.

Air raid sirens sounded across Omsk, while authorities restricted mobile communications and internet access, according to the governor's spokesperson, Mina Akhverdiyeva. The city's airport also temporarily suspended arrivals and departures.

The Omsk refinery, owned by Kremlin-controlled Gazprom Neft, is Russia's largest oil refinery, with a processing capacity of 22 million metric tons of crude oil annually. Located approximately 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) from Ukraine's border, the facility also supplies fuel to the Russian military.

Earlier on Nov. 11, Ukrainian drones struck the Ust-Luga port in Leningrad Oblast, Ukraine's General Staff confirmed. The strikes damaged five oil tanks with a total volume of 150,000 cubic meters, as well as a hydrocracking unit, an air cooling unit, and a pumping station, the General Staff said.

"Each damaged tank, installation or pier reduces oil revenues to the budget of the aggressor country," the General Staff added.

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) said that in the attack on Ust-Luga, Ukrainian forces also struck the Naro-Fominsk, a Buyan-M class missile boat carrying Onyx and Kalibr missiles. The extent of damage to some of Russia's helicopters was also being assessed, the service said.

Leningrad Oblast Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko also confirmed a Ukrainian drone attack, claiming that 150 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight and several others struck the area, sparking a fire and injuring three workers. The governor added that none of the port employees sustained serious injuries.

Explosions also sounded in other Russian regions as drones moved across the country.

A residential building was damaged in Russia's Smolensk Oblast amid a Ukrainian drone attack, and air defenses were engaged in the city of Tver, Exilenova Plus reported.

In the Adygea Republic, residents heard explosions and reported a fire on the roof of a residential building after electronic warfare systems were allegedly enabled, according to the monitoring channel.

Russian strike on crowded market in Odesa Oblast kills at least 4, injures 8

Russian forces struck a market in central Chornomorsk, Odesa Oblast, on Nov. 11, killing at least four people and injuring eight others, Governor Oleh Kiper said.

An air raid alert sounded in the region at around 11 a.m. local time. At the time, Ukraine's Air Force reported that a jet-powered drone was heading toward Chornomorsk.

Local authorities did not specify whether the market was hit directly by the drone, by falling debris or by another type of weapon.

At 12:30 p.m., Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper said Russian forces had struck a site in the city center while it was crowded with people. The attack also damaged residential buildings and cars nearby.

At around 1 p.m., Kiper reported that one person had been killed and at least 10 others injured, nine of whom were hospitalized, including four in serious condition.

Two more people later died in hospital, bringing the death toll to three, the local authorities said.

Later, Kiper reported that a fourth person had unfortunately passed away from their injuries.

Chornomorsk, home to around 50,000 people, is the third-largest city in Odesa Oblast after the regional capital, Odesa, and Izmail. Located on the Black Sea coast, it lies about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Odesa.

The strike marks the second time in three days that Russian forces have targeted Chornomorsk. On Nov. 9, Russian forces struck a two-story residential building in the city.