Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 2, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleUkraine and Russia plan to exchange POW lists, aiming to swap 1,000 prisoners each. The agreement includes returning remains and a limited return of children.
KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine and Russia agreed at talks in Istanbul on Monday next week to give each other lists of people they want included in a planned prisoner of war swap, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
Zelenskiy told an online news briefing that negotiators for Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners each, with the possibility of swapping an additional 200 POWs.
He said there was also agreement to return the remains of killed service personnel, but this would take careful preparation.
Zelenskiy also said Ukrainian negotiators gave their Russian counterparts a list of nearly 400 children it wanted Russia to return home to Ukraine, but that the Russian delegation agreed to work on returning only 10 of them.
Further, the Ukrainian leader referred to a Ukrainian intelligence operation on Sunday, codenamed "Spider's Web", in which drones smuggled inside wooden sheds attacked Russian military airfields.
He said the operation had helped to restore partners' confidence that Ukraine is able to continue waging its war against Russia's invasion.
(Reporting by Olena Harmash; Writing by Christian Lowe)
Zelenskiy announced that Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange lists of 1,000 prisoners each, with the possibility of an additional 200 POWs.
In addition to the POW swap, there was an agreement to return the remains of killed service personnel, which requires careful preparation.
Ukrainian negotiators provided a list of nearly 400 children they wanted Russia to return home to Ukraine.
The 'Spider's Web' operation involved drones attacking Russian military airfields, which helped restore confidence among Ukraine's partners in its ability to continue the war.
The talks between Ukraine and Russia took place in Istanbul.
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