President Trump announced on Friday that Ukraine and Russia were conducting a major prisoner exchange after the two warring countries agreed a week ago to swap 1,000 prisoners each as part of cease-fire negotiations.
“A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine. It will go into effect shortly,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media. He did not provide additional details and it appeared that the exchange, expected to take place on Friday, had not yet started or was still underway.
If completed, the exchange would be the largest prisoner swap of the war to date and could help build trust between two nations that have thus far been locked in unsuccessful negotiations for a temporary cease-fire.
While Kyiv and Washington have pushed for an unconditional 30-day truce, Moscow has resisted, saying that any cease-fire must be preceded by Ukraine’s withdrawal from territories that Ukraine still controls — a nonstarter for the Ukrainian authorities.
Ukrainian and Russian delegations met in Turkey last week for the first time since the early months of the war, but the talks produced few concrete results beyond a commitment to carry out a prisoner exchange.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said on Thursday that both sides had exchanged lists of 1,000 prisoners they wanted to see returned. “The agreement to release 1,000 of our people from Russian captivity became perhaps the only tangible result of the meeting in Turkey,” he said. “We are working to ensure this result is delivered.”
Constant Méheut reports on the war in Ukraine, including battlefield developments, attacks on civilian centers and how the war is affecting its people.
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