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  • ✇Euromaidan Press
  • Ukraine and Russia to exchange prisoners of war this weekend — only result of Istanbul peace talks
    Ukraine and Russia are preparing to conduct a significant prisoner exchange on 7-8 June, with Russia indicating it can transfer 500 Ukrainian military personnel as part of a larger agreement, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced during a press briefing on 4 June. The exchange represents part of broader agreements reached during recent Istanbul negotiations on 2 June. The talks failed to produce any ceasefire agreement over the deep divide between Kyiv’s and Moscow’s stances on the war. Howeve
     
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✇Euromaidan Press

Ukraine and Russia to exchange prisoners of war this weekend — only result of Istanbul peace talks

Par :Vira Kravchuk
4 juin 2025 à 14:58

On 6 May, Ukraine returned 205 prisoners of war (POWs) home.

Ukraine and Russia are preparing to conduct a significant prisoner exchange on 7-8 June, with Russia indicating it can transfer 500 Ukrainian military personnel as part of a larger agreement, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced during a press briefing on 4 June.

The exchange represents part of broader agreements reached during recent Istanbul negotiations on 2 June. The talks failed to produce any ceasefire agreement over the deep divide between Kyiv’s and Moscow’s stances on the war. However, limited progress includes organizing a new prisoner exchange and repatriating the remains of about 6,000 fallen soldiers.
Ukrainian POWs are also systematically tortured in Russian captivity and denied medical care. More than 95% of released Ukrainian POWs report experiencing torture, including physical beatings with objects like rebar and bricks, electrocution, and psychological abuse.

According to Zelenskyy, Russia committed to exchanging 500 prisoners from a previously agreed total of 1,000, with Ukraine prepared to provide an equivalent number in return, Suspilne reports.

Meanwhile, Russian delegation head Vladimir Medinsky confirmed to the Kremlin that Russia expects the exchange to follow a “1200 for 1200” format beginning 7 June.

A notable change from previous negotiations involves the advance provision of prisoner lists. Unlike the May talks in Istanbul, both sides have now agreed to share these lists beforehand, though Ukraine has yet to receive them.

“The Russians gave their word that they would give us the lists in advance of who we are exchanging, this is important for us,” Zelenskyy stated.

This comes as reports emerged revealing that Russia manipulated the prisoner exchanges by sending mostly former prisoners convicted of non-war-related crimes who had been indefinitely detained in Russian deportation centers rather than captured Ukrainian soldiers or civilian activists.

The sides also committed to exchanging all severely wounded and seriously ill prisoners of war, plus all military personnel aged 18-25, focusing on prisoner categories rather than numerical equivalents. 

Beyond prisoner exchanges, the sides have established protocols for returning deceased soldiers’ remains. Zelenskyy explained that both Ukrainian and Russian documentation indicates only 15-20% of recovered bodies have been properly identified. The president emphasized the importance of accurate identification procedures, noting that body exchanges will commence after prisoner transfers are completed.

The most recent large-scale prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia happened from 23 to 25 May involving about 1,000 prisoners from each side.

Since March 2022, Ukraine has secured the release of 5,757 citizens through prisoner exchanges, with an additional 536 Ukrainians returned through other means.

 

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