Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners Friday, beginning the largest swap in more than three years of war in what President Trump suggested “could lead to something big.”
Each side brought home 390 people — including soldiers and civilians — with more expected over the weekend.
Kyiv and Moscow agreed last week to swap 1,000 prisoners from each side in their first direct peace talks since the early weeks of Russia’s invasion in 2022.
Trump congratulates Russia and Ukraine for completing a “massive” prisoner exchange. REUTERS“It’s very important to bring everyone home,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday, confirming the key exchange.
Trump, who has been pivotal in efforts to end the war, was first to confirm the start of the swap Friday.
“A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine,” he wrote in a Truth Social post just before 6 a.m.
Ukraine (Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesnky above) and Russia agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners during a tense, two-hour talk in Istanbul last week, according to reports. ZUMAPRESS.com“Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big???” he asked of ongoing efforts to broker a peace deal.
The agreement to swap 1,000 prisoners was the only substantial outcome of a tense, two-hour talk in Istanbul last week, which failed to reach an agreement on a cease-fire deal proposed by Trump.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (above) snubbed an offer from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to meet face to face in Turkey last week, and instead sent a low-level delegation. POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesThe start of the exchange Friday did not herald any halt in fighting.
Russia launched two ballistic missiles at infrastructure in the southern Ukrainian port of Odesa, killing one worker and injuring eight others — four critically — in the first recorded attack on the port since March 11.
Battles continued along the roughly 620-mile front line, where tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed, and neither country has relented.
Members of the 65th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces undergo training. Press service of the 65th Mechanized Brigade/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
During the talks, Russia demanded Ukraine give up four major cities – Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk – which it has eyed since the beginning of the conflict, reports claim. APWhile Trump is hopeful the prison swap could signal a willingness for Russia to end the war, Moscow has repeatedly pushed back on a US-backed, 30-day cease-fire, which Kyiv has said it would agree to immediately.
Russian President Vladimir Putin snubbed an offer from Zelensky to meet face to face in Turkey last week, and instead sent a low-level delegation.
Members of the White Angel unit of Ukrainian police officers who evacuate people from frontline towns and villages remove an elderly man from his house. REUTERSDuring the talks, Russia demanded Ukraine give up four major cities — Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk — which it has eyed since the beginning of the conflict.
Ukraine held its ground and refused.
Trump threatened to tighten sanctions on Russia if Moscow blocked a peace deal, but after speaking to Putin on Monday, he decided to take no action for the time being.
With Post wires
