'Work on lists is ongoing' — Ukraine, Russia preparing to exchange 1,200 POWs each, Zelensky says
Work is ongoing between Ukraine and Russia as the warring parties prepare to each exchange 1,200 Prisoners of War (POWs), President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 3.
"An agreement has been reached on the exchange of 1,200 individuals, and work on the lists is ongoing," Zelensky said on social media following a briefing by National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov.
Zelensky did not provide a timeline for the proposed exchange, adding that Kyiv is additionally working to "unblock the return of our civilians, verifying data on each individual by name."
The exchange was initially agreed to during a third round of peace talks in Istanbul on July 23. Umerov said Kyiv agreed to conduct a humanitarian exchange involving more than 1,200 people. Zelensky previously identified the return of abducted Ukrainian children and an immediate ceasefire as key priorities in the talks.
The outcome of the third round of peace talks falls in line with outcomes from negotiations during the first two rounds, with Moscow rejecting a ceasefire and instead agreeing to a POW exchange.
Since the second round of peace talks on June 2, Kyiv and Moscow have carried out nine exchanges stemming from the second round of negotiations.
The initial round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul, held on May 16, marked the first direct negotiations between the two parties since early 2022. While no breakthrough toward ending the war was achieved, the sides agreed on a "1,000-for-1,000" prisoner exchange, the largest swap of the war.
Since the outbreak of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has brought home 5,857 people from Russian captivity via exchanges, Zelensky said on July 28.
