Russia and Ukraine agreed to make a new exchange of war prisoners, including civilians and military, during the third round of negotiations held on Wednesday (23) in Istanbul, Turkey. The meeting takes place a few days after US President Donald Trump, imposing Moscow a period of 50 days to seek a peace agreement, under threat of severe commercial sanctions.
According to Russian state agency Tass, the meeting lasted about 40 minutes and resulted in the commitment on both sides of releasing 1,200 prisoners. An unidentified source said the main advance was the inclusion of civilians among the detainees that will be released. The previous two rounds, in May and June, had already promoted similar exchanges, but without significant advances regarding a ceasefire.
The Russian delegation was led by Vladimir Medinsky, presidential advisor, while the Ukrainian team kept ahead Rustem Umarov, former defense minister and current head of the Security Council. Turkey Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan chaired the meeting and said the country’s goal is to accelerate the end of the conflict.
Despite the resumption of dialogue, the clashes continue. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that its troops took the Vila de Varachyne in the Sumy region and claimed to have intercepted several weapons released by Ukraine, including drones and missiles. Already the Ukrainian army reported that it had destroyed tanks and Russian equipment in attacks on the last 24 hours.
Ukraine continues to defend a summit between presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin, considered essential for any political advancement. According to Rustem Umarov, Kiev is ready for the meeting “Yesterday, today or tomorrow”. However, Kremlin minimized expectations, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov stating that the sides still have “diametrically opposite” proposals.
