As part of a U.S.-led effort that has so far failed to result in a truce in the three-year-old conflict, Russia and Ukraine announced Friday the start of a significant prisoner exchange, one of the few indications of progress from their direct discussions last week in Istanbul.
According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 390 Ukrainians are being sent home as part of the exchange’s initial phase, and more releases are anticipated over the weekend.
On Telegram, he stated, “It’s very important to bring everyone home.” He expressed gratitude to everyone who helped to ensure their homecoming and promised to keep up diplomatic efforts to enable additional exchanges.
According to Russia’s Ministry of Defence, 120 civilian detainees and 270 military personnel have been freed by each side.
It stated that the conversation is “planned to continue in the coming days.”
Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement last week in Turkey to swap 1,000 inmates from each country.
There was little progress in efforts to halt the fighting during that two-hour meeting.
