Russia and Ukraine yesterday each released 390 prisoners and announced that more will be released in the coming days, in what is expected to be the largest prisoner exchange so far in the course of the war.
The agreement to exchange 1.000 prisoners each was the only concrete step toward peace that emerged last week from two hours of negotiations in Istanbul – the first direct talks between the warring sides in over three years.
They failed to reach an agreement on a ceasefire proposed by the United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that each side on Friday released 270 soldiers and 120 civilians. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the figure of 390 from each side and said that more prisoners would be released today and tomorrow.
Earlier, Ukrainian authorities had informed journalists to gather at a location in the northern Chernihiv region, expecting that some of the released prisoners would be brought there.
Commenting on the prisoner exchange yesterday, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Congratulations to both sides on this negotiating victory. Could this lead to something big???”
It is believed that hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides have been wounded or killed in the deadliest European war since World War II, although neither side publishes exact casualty figures. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians have also been killed while Russian forces besieged and bombarded Ukrainian cities.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that among those released are civilians who had been captured in Russia’s Kursk region during a Ukrainian incursion that began last year.
The released Russian soldiers and civilians are located in Belarus, which borders Ukraine, and are receiving psychological and medical assistance there before being transferred to Russia for further care, the statement said.
Ukraine ready for a ceasefire
Ukraine says it is ready to immediately accept a 30-day ceasefire.
Russia, which started the war by invading its neighboring country in 2022 and now controls about one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, says it will not pause its attacks until certain conditions are met. One member of the Ukrainian delegation called those conditions “unacceptable.”
Trump, who has shifted U.S. policy from supporting Ukraine to accepting parts of the Russian narrative about the war, previously said he could tighten sanctions against Moscow if it blocks peace efforts. But after a conversation with Putin on Monday, he decided not to take any action for now.
Moscow says it is ready to negotiate while the fighting continues and wants to talk about what it calls the “roots of the war,” including its demands that Ukraine cede more territory, be disarmed, and be excluded from military alliances with the West. Kyiv says that would amount to capitulation and would leave the country defenseless against future Russian attacks.
Meanwhile, the fighting continues.
Russia yesterday claimed it had captured the village of Rakivka in the northeastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv.
The governor of the Ukrainian Odesa region, Oleh Kiper, stated that Russia launched two missiles at the region’s port in the afternoon, killing one person and injuring eight others.
Photo: Volodymir Zelenskyy/Facebook
