KYIV: Russia and Ukraine on Monday swapped a first group of captured soldiers — part of an agreement reached during peace talks that appeared to be in doubt over the weekend.

The deal to exchange prisoners of war and repatriate the bodies of killed fighters was the only concrete agreement reached at the talks, which have failed to lead to a breakthrough towards ending the three-year war. Progress has stalled. Russia has issued tough conditions for halting its invasion and has repeatedly rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire.

“Today an exchange began, which will continue in several stages over the coming days,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media. He posted images of soldiers draped in Ukrainian flags, cheering and hugging.

“Among those we are bringing back now are the wounded, the severely wounded, and those under the age of 25,” he added. Russia’s defence ministry also confirmed the swap was part of “agreements reached on June 2 in Istanbul”. Neither side said how many prisoners were released.

After the talks in Istanbul, both said it would involve more than 1,000 captured soldiers, making it the largest exchange of the three-year war. The swap itself had appeared in jeopardy over the weekend, when Moscow and Kyiv traded accusations of delaying and thwarting the planned exchange.

Zelensky accused Russia on Sunday of playing a “dirty, political game” and of not sticking to the agreed parameters — to free all captured soldiers that are sick, wounded or under the age of 25. Russia said Kyiv was refusing to take back bodies of dead soldiers, 1,200 of which it said were waiting in refrigerated trucks near the border.

Talks ‘pointless’

Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine triggered the biggest European conflict since World War II, forced millions to flee their homes and decimated much of eastern and southern Ukraine. Pressed by US President Donald Trump to end the conflict, the two sides have opened direct negotiations for the first time in more than three years in search of an agreement. But they appear as far apart as ever from an agreement.

In Istanbul on June 2, Russia demanded Ukraine withdraw its forces from areas still under its control, recognise Moscow’s annexation of five Ukrainian regions and reno­unce all Western military support.

Kyiv is seeking a full ceasefire and a summit between Zelensky, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump to try to break the impasse. While welcoming POW exchanges, Zelensky said last week said it was “pointless” to hold further talks with the current Russian delegation — who he previously dismissed as “empty heads” — since they could not agree to a ceasefire. Meanwhile fighting on the front lines and in the skies has intensified.

Russia said on Sunday its troops had crossed into Ukraine’s industrial Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time in its campaign — a potentially key advance given that Moscow has not put forward a territorial claim to that region. Moscow launched a record 479 drones at Ukraine overnight, Kyiv’s air force said.

Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2025