CHERNIHIV REGION: Russia and Ukraine each released 390 prisoners on Friday in what is expected to be the biggest prisoner swap of the war so far, with officials saying more would be freed in the coming days.

The agreement to exchange a total of 1,000 prisoners from each side was the sole concrete outcome from two hours of direct talks in Istanbul last week —the first such discussions between the warring parties in over three years. However, the sides failed to agree to a ceasefire proposed by US President Donald Trump.

The Russian Ministry of Defence said each side had released 270 soldiers and 120 civilians on Friday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed the total of 390 each and said more would be released Saturday and Sunday.

US President Trump praises negotiation but sides remain deadlocked on terms of ceasefire

Mr Trump, reacting to the swap earlier Friday, wrote on Truth Social, “Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big???”

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides are believed to have been wounded or killed in Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II, though neither side publishes accurate casualty figures. The Russian Defence Ministry said those released included civilians captured during a Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk region that began last year. The freed Russian servicemen and civilians were in neighbouring Belarus and receiving psychological and medical assistance before being moved to Russia for further care, it said.

Ceasefire

Regarding a ceasefire, Ukraine says it is ready for a 30-day ceasefire immediately.

Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion in 2022 and now occupies about a fifth of Ukraine, says it will not pause its assaults until its conditions are met first. A member of the Ukrainian delegation called those conditions “non-starters.”

Mr Trump, who has shifted US policy from supporting Ukraine toward accepting some of Russia’s account of the war, had said he could tighten sanctions on Moscow if it blocked peace. But after speaking to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, he decided to take no action for now.

Moscow says it is ready for talks while the fighting goes on, and wants to discuss what it calls the war’s “root causes,” including its demands that Ukraine cede more territory, be disarmed and barred from military alliances with the West. Kyiv says that is tantamount to surrender and would leave it defenceless in the face of future Russian attacks.

Meanwhile, as fighting continued on Friday, Russia claimed to have captured a settlement called Rakivka in Ukraine’s northeastern Khar­kiv region.

Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2025