Zelenskyy says Ukraine, Russia to exchange lists this week for POW swap

Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian negotiators gave their Russian counterparts a list of nearly 400 children it wanted Russia to return home to Ukraine.

By: Reuters

June 2, 2025 11:51 PM IST

1 min read

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives for a media conference during the Vilnius Summit at the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania in Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, June 2, 2025. (AP)

Ukraine and Russia agreed at talks in Istanbul on Monday next week to give each other lists of people they want included in a planned prisoner of war swap, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy told an online news briefing that negotiators for Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners each, with the possibility of swapping an additional 200 POWs.

He said there was also agreement to return the remains of killed service personnel, but this would take careful preparation.

Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian negotiators gave their Russian counterparts a list of nearly 400 children it wanted Russia to return home to Ukraine, but that the Russian delegation agreed to work on returning only 10 of them.

Further, the Ukrainian leader referred to a Ukrainian intelligence operation on Sunday, codenamed “Spider’s Web”, in which drones smuggled inside wooden sheds attacked Russian military airfields.

He said the operation had helped to restore partners’ confidence that Ukraine is able to continue waging its war against Russia’s invasion.

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