FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a joint news briefing with U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, February 12, 2025. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo
DUBAI (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday he had discussed bringing back Ukrainians from Russian captivity with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at a meeting in Dubai on Monday, the state news agency WAM reported.
The United Arab Emirates has played a key role in overseeing the return of Ukrainians deported to Russia during the nearly three-year-old war, many of them children.
Zelenskiy had said earlier that the top priority for his visit was to ensure "that still more of our people are able to return home from captivity".
During the meeting, Sheikh Mohammed reaffirmed the UAE's commitment to support a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict and initiatives to ease its humanitarian impact.
U.S. and Russian officials will meet in Saudi Arabia in the coming days to start talks aimed at ending the war.
(Reporting by Tala Ramadan; Editing by Toby Chopra and Kevin Liffey)
