Prisoner Swap Deal: The two warring parties reached an agreement to exchange more prisoners of war, but the second round of direct peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in the Turkish city of Istanbul ended Monday without any significant progress. Vladimir Medinsky, the Kremlin aide who led the Russian team in the second round of peace negotiations, stated that Moscow promised to give Kyiv approximately 6,000 frozen bodies of slain Ukrainian soldiers by next week as part of the agreement.

6,000 Frozen Bodies:

According to Russia’s senior negotiator, the two sides have also agreed to exchange inmates who are ill or seriously injured, as well as those who are under 25 years old. Vladimir said media, “First of all, we will unilaterally hand over 6,000 frozen bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers and officers to the Ukrainian side. We have kept them. We have identified all whom we could, conducted DNA tests, and determined their identities…Next week, we will transfer these bodies to the Ukrainian side so that they can humanely bury them.”

Young Soldiers Exchange:

He stated that if Ukraine retrieves the bodies of Russian soldiers, Moscow is also ready to recover them. “We will take back any bodies they may have. However, we are not yet aware of any,” the Russian representative said. Furthermore, Medinsky, an ideological adviser to Putin who has authored textbooks defending Russia’s invasion and challenging Ukraine’s national identity, announced that Kyiv and Moscow have agreed to the largest prisoner swap so far.

In addition, he emphasized, “All gravely wounded and seriously ill soldiers will be exchanged on both sides. This is a humanitarian gesture on our part.” He added that the same “all-for-all” principle would apply to young soldiers under the age of 25. According to him, the overall exchange quota will include at least 1,000 individuals from each side, and potentially more.

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Long-Term Medical Commissions:

Medinsky announced that both countries agreed to establish long-term medical commissions to collect data, which Kyiv and Moscow will use to compile lists of seriously injured soldiers. They plan to exchange these soldiers without waiting for major political decisions. “These exchanges will take place regularly as part of routine operations,” he stated. In response to Kyiv’s accusation that Russia is taking Ukrainian children, Medinsky promised to investigate the matter.

Meanwhile, just one day after Ukraine launched what many view as a highly effective drone strike deep inside Russian territory, Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Istanbul for a second round of peace talks. However, after roughly an hour, the negotiations ended without notable progress, as Russia continued to reject U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for an immediate ceasefire.

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