Ukraine and Russia agreed on Monday to exchange thousands of fallen soldiers next week. Their delegations decided this after a consultation in Istanbul. The two countries are also working on a new prisoner exchange.
Both delegations reported this after the consultation. It concerns six thousand fallen soldiers on both sides, so twelve thousand in total.
Russia and Ukraine will also work on a new prisoner exchange. The Ukrainian Minister of Defense, Rustem Umerov, said that the emphasis is on the exchange of seriously injured, sick and prisoners under the age of 25. Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation, confirmed this.
Ukraine and Russia met for direct consultations on Monday for the second time in more than three years. The talks lasted no longer than an hour. At the first meeting in May, the countries also agreed on a prisoner exchange, but that was it.
Prior to the new meeting, Ukraine had drawn up a roadmap towards peace. This focused on three steps: a complete ceasefire, an exchange of prisoners of war and a conversation between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine wants to meet again before the end of the month
Ukraine says it also received a Russian memorandum on Monday. That is about the next steps in a consultation about a ceasefire. “We couldn’t respond to that yet, because we only received it today. But we are going to study it,” the delegation said.
According to the Russian delegation, the plan concerns steps for a complete ceasefire. The Ukrainian delegation said on Monday that Russia was not yet open to an unconditional ceasefire. The Russians would have proposed a ceasefire of two to three days for certain areas.
The Ukrainian delegation reiterated on Monday that the conversation between the two presidents is crucial. “All important issues can only be resolved at the level of leaders.” The delegation also proposes to organize another meeting before the end of June to continue making progress in the talks.
Monday’s meeting in Istanbul followed a day after a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on various air force bases in Russia. According to Ukraine, dozens of fighter planes were destroyed and 6.1 billion euros worth of damage was caused. Watch the video below how Ukraine did that.