New Agreement on Prisoner Exchanges
During negotiations in Istanbul, Ukrainian and Russian representatives, Rustem Umerov and Vladimir Medinsky, reached a significant agreement to exchange over 1200 prisoners of war from both sides.
Sources confirm: Rustem Umerov, Vladimir Medinsky, Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Serhiy Kyslytsia, and Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgiy Tikhiy held briefings on the outcomes of the negotiations.
Umerov stated: "This is an important step, as we agreed to exchange over 1200 individuals. This will be carried out by our colleagues, and we will continue discussions on further exchanges."
Serhiy Kyslytsia clarified that this refers only to military personnel, while civilians and children "require separate attention" and are not included in the exchanges.
Medinsky confirmed: "We agreed to exchange no less than 1200 servicemen from each side in the near future."
The Russian representative also noted that the RF is willing to transfer more prisoners of war to Ukraine.
"If they identify our personnel, this number may increase," he added.
Medinsky also expressed a proposal to transfer 3000 bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers to Ukraine.
Additionally, he mentioned that Russia proposed short "ceasefires" of 24-48 hours for the evacuation of the wounded and the retrieval of bodies.
Georgiy Tikhiy emphasized that during the third round of negotiations, "the overall atmosphere was calmer, with fewer emotions and more constructive dialogue."
He also noted that Russia's proposals for short-term ceasefires had been discussed previously and cannot be considered "true ceasefires."
Tikhiy stated: "In previous months, we heard other ideas from Russia – ceasefires during holidays, but this is not real cessation of hostilities.
Humanitarian pauses in specific front lines occur periodically – Ukrainian and Russian commanders coordinate these actions to retrieve soldiers' bodies, but this is not a true ceasefire. The Russians try to present this as a ceasefire, while we mean a complete cessation of hostilities on land, at sea, and in air. This is what we understand as a full ceasefire, with civilian infrastructure and residential areas guaranteed safety. These humanitarian pauses happen already, and they cannot be deemed as genuine peace."
