Russia, Ukraine wrap up largest prisoner swap

MOSCOW/KYIV — Russia and Ukraine completed the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each on Sunday, wrapping up the largest prisoner swap under an agreement reached during their recent talks in Istanbul.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that 303 Russian servicemen have "returned from Kyiv-controlled territory", while an equivalent number of Ukrainian prisoners have also been freed.

Among those released were personnel from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service, and the State Special Transport Service, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X.

The freed Russian prisoners are on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, where they are being provided with necessary psychological and medical assistance, said the Russian Defense Ministry.

Following their direct negotiations in Istanbul on May 16, Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners each, marking the largest prisoner swap since the start of the conflict in 2022.

On Friday, both sides exchanged 270 soldiers and 120 civilians, followed by a 307-for-307 swap of military personnel on Saturday.

All exchanges of prisoners and fallen soldiers between Russia and Ukraine have previously been facilitated by Belarus and carried out on its territory, with the consent of the leadership of both Russia and Ukraine, Natalya Eismont, press secretary of the Belarusian president, told TASS on Friday.

The three-day exchange of prisoners was the 65th swap of captives between the two sides since the start of the conflict and the sixth of its kind this year, according to Ukraine's Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

Russia has signaled it will send Ukraine its terms for a peace settlement after the exchange, without saying what those terms would be.

The two countries have held regular prisoner swaps, but none has been on this scale, AFP reported.

However, the prisoner exchange did not herald a halt in the fighting.

Russia launched an overnight attack on Kyiv, the city's mayor said, warning residents to stay in shelters.

The capital was "under attack "but "air defenses are operating", said Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

Overnight attacks were also reported in the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions.

In Moscow, restrictions were imposed on at least four airports, including the main hub Sheremetyevo, the Russian civilian aviation authority said.

Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said 12 drones flying toward the Russian capital had been intercepted.

Russia's Defense Ministry said that overnight and early on Saturday its forces shot down over 100 Ukrainian drones over six provinces in western and southern Russia.

The drone strikes injured three people in the Tula region south of Moscow, local Governor Dmitriy Milyaev said, and sparked a fire at an industrial site there.

Andriy Kovalenko, of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said on Saturday the drones hit a plant in Tula that makes chemicals used in explosives and rocket fuel.

After the May 16 Istanbul meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called the prisoner swap a "confidence-building measure" and said the parties had agreed in principle to meet again.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday there has been no agreement yet on the venue for the next round of talks as diplomatic maneuvering continued.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would give Ukraine a draft document outlining its conditions for a "sustainable, long-term, comprehensive" peace agreement, once the ongoing prisoner exchange is completed, The Associated Press reported.

The Istanbul meeting revealed that both sides remained far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting. One such condition for Ukraine, backed by its Western allies, is a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement.

Agencies-Xinhua