Russia and Ukraine are expected to exchange 1,000 prisoners each, each, as part of a deal in recent talks in Istanbul.
Russia has received a list of names of prisoners of war, hoping Ukraine will be released as part of the expected exchange between the two countries, a Kremlin spokesman told Russian news agency Interfax.
Dmitry Peskov told Interfax on Thursday that the list was received after Moscow gave Kiev a list of prisoners who wanted to release their own list of prisoners.
The exchanges can freely see 1,000 prisoners of war on each side of what will be the biggest exchange of war, but were agreed during consultations in the Turkish capital Istanbul last week.
These debates marked the first direct peace negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations since 2022 when the war began.
Prior to the meeting, Ukraine had sought a 30-day ceasefire, but Moscow rejected the proposal and agreed only to exchange prisoners.
Ukrainian officials accused Russia of intentionally delaying peace talks while consolidating territorial interests on the battlefield.
The main prisoner swap is a “very tedious process” and said it “for a while”, adding that “work continues at a rapid pace.”
“Everyone is interested in doing that right away,” said a Kremlin spokesman.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday, “Freeing 1,000 people from Russian prisoners is probably the only concrete result of the meeting in Turkiye.”
“We are working to ensure that this outcome is achieved,” he said in a post in X.
Zelenskyy added that Defense Minister Rustem Umerov is overseeing the exchange process supported by several Ukrainian government ministries, intelligence reporting agencies and the president’s own offices.
“The return of all people from Russian prisoners is one of Ukraine’s important priorities,” Zelenskyy said. “We are grateful to everyone who contributed to this effort.”
When Ukraine, the European Union and the US pressed Moscow to return to negotiations, Peskov rejected reports on future peace negotiations at the Vatican, saying there was “no specific agreement on the next meeting.”
US President Donald Trump spoke with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday, urging the end of “Bloodbus.”
Putin thanked Trump for supporting the resumption of in-person talks between Russia and Ukraine, saying his government is “ready and ready to work with the Ukrainian side in a memorandum of understanding on future peace deals.”
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense said Thursday that the air defense fired down 105 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 35 in the Moscow region.
The ministry said it had defeated 485 Ukrainian drones in several regions and in the Black Sea from the end of Tuesday to the beginning of Thursday.
In southern Ukraine, Governor Oleksandr Plokdin said Thursday that one person was killed against the area in a Russian artillery attack.
He said 35 areas in the Kherson area, including the city of Kherson, have been injured 11 people after being fired and air attacks on the past day.
Zelensky said that “the most intense situation” remains in the Donetsk region, but Ukrainian forces continue to carry out “active operations in the Kursk and Belgorod regions” within Russia.
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