Istanbul Peace Talks; 614 Prisoners Exchanged Between Russia and Ukraine
The second phase of the prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine took place as part of the Istanbul peace negotiations, with 614 military prisoners swapped between the two countries.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced in a statement that Ukraine handed over 307 Russian soldiers to Russian authorities as part of the Istanbul peace talks. In return, Russia released 307 Ukrainian soldiers in this exchange.
The Russian Defense Ministry also emphasized the continuation of the process of exchanging military and civilian prisoners with Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced in a social media post that the second round of prisoner exchanges with Russia, based on the Istanbul peace negotiations, had been completed.
Zelenskyy wrote:
“Today was the second day of implementing the agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners based on the talks held in Turkey. In just two days, 697 prisoners have returned home. The prisoner exchange will continue tomorrow.”
It is worth noting that during last week’s Istanbul peace talks, Russia and Ukraine had agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners each.
