Ukraine and Russia have agreed to exchange lists of prisoners of war (POWs) for a planned swap, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced following talks in Istanbul on Monday.
Zelenskiy stated in an online news briefing that negotiators from both sides agreed in principle to exchange 1,000 prisoners each, with the potential for an additional 200 POWs to be included in the swap.
He also said that an agreement was reached to return the remains of deceased service members, though he cautioned that this process would require careful planning and preparation.
Zelenskiy further revealed that Ukrainian negotiators presented their Russian counterparts with a list of nearly 400 Ukrainian children they are seeking to have returned to Ukraine. However, the Russian delegation only agreed to work towards the return of 10 of those children.
In addition, the Ukrainian leader referenced a Ukrainian intelligence operation carried out on Sunday, codenamed “Spider’s Web,” in which drones, reportedly smuggled inside wooden sheds, targeted Russian military airfields.
He asserted that the operation had helped to reassure Ukraine’s partners of its continued ability to wage its war against Russia’s invasion.
