Kyiv and Moscow have agreed to swap all prisoners of war who are badly wounded and under the age of 25, according to Ukrainian officials.
The news comes after peace talks concluded in Turkey on Monday, where Ukrainian and Russian delegations met for the second time. Discussions between the delegations focused on POW exchanges, deported children, and a ceasefire framework.
Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he hoped to bring together the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and the US later this month in Turkey.
“My greatest wish for both sides is to bring both (Russia’s) Vladimir Putin and (Ukraine’s Volodymyr) Zelensky together in Istanbul or Ankara, and even to bring (US President) Mr (Donald) Trump to their side, if they accept,” he said to the AFP.
Moscow and Kyiv also agreed to return the bodies of 6,000 fallen soldiers each, according to Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov speaking at a press conference in Istanbul after the talks.
But Russia continued to reject the idea of an unconditional ceasefire, as Ukraine proposed holding the next round of peace talks before the end of June.
Instead, Russia offered Ukraine a partial “2 to 3 day” ceasefire, Ukrainian officials said.
The delegations “exchanged documents through the Turkish side, and we are preparing a new release of prisoners of the war,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a press conference in Vilnius shortly after the talks concluded.
This second formal meeting – held at Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace, a former Ottoman imperial residence turned luxury hotel – followed last month’s session that resulted in a large-scale prisoner swap but no ceasefire. Negotiators gathered again on Monday in hopes of building on that momentum.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan opened the session with a message to both sides: “The eyes of the entire world are focused on the contacts and discussions you will hold here.”
Zelensky: No peace that rewards Putin
In remarks delivered just after the talks, Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine was committed to ending the war – but not at the cost of legitimizing Moscow’s aggression.
“The key to lasting peace is clear: the aggressor must not receive any reward for war,” he said. “Putin must get nothing that would justify his aggression.”
He added that Kyiv is “ready to take the necessary steps for peace,” but stopped short of signaling any major change in Ukraine’s negotiating stance.
While hopes of a breakthrough remain dim, some Ukrainian officials hinted at possible movement depending on Moscow’s approach.
“If they are ready to move forward, not just repeat the same previous ultimatums, then there may be good and big news today,” a Ukrainian delegation source told AFP.
Ukraine continues to call for a “full and unconditional ceasefire” as a first step toward any long-term agreement.
But Russia has rejected such terms, instead insisting on addressing what it calls the “root causes” of the war – a phrase often used to justify demands for sweeping concessions, including demilitarization, a ban on Ukrainian accession to NATO, and territorial withdrawals.
Kyiv and its Western backers have dismissed those demands as baseless and argue Moscow’s invasion is a straightforward case of attempted imperial conquest.
No faith on the front lines
Back on the ground, Ukrainian soldiers and civilians remain skeptical that peace will come through these meetings – or anytime soon.
In Dobropillya, a frontline town in Donetsk region, a 53-year-old man named Volodymyr told AFP, “We thought that everything would stop. And now there is nothing to wait for. We have no home, nothing. We were almost killed by drones.”
In nearby Kramatorsk, a soldier stationed near the front echoed the sentiment:
“I have no faith in them. But it would be great if they could agree to stop, to have some kind of respite, so that we could take our guys, those who died, and so that guys would just stop dying,” he said while sipping coffee.
Even as delegates convened in Istanbul, Ukraine carried out one of its boldest operations to date, striking dozens of Russian strategic bombers parked at airbases deep inside Russian territory.
Ukraine’s security service said it had spent 18 months planning the attack, which involved smuggling drones into Russia and launching them from sites near the targeted airfields. Kyiv estimates that 41 bombers were damaged in the strike – aircraft worth an estimated $7 billion.
While Kyiv scores hits behind enemy lines, Russian forces continue pushing forward in eastern Ukraine. Data analyzed by the Institute for the Study of War shows Moscow’s territorial advances have accelerated in recent weeks.
Kremlin officials have stepped up calls for Ukraine to surrender more territory and halt Western military cooperation – conditions Kyiv has repeatedly rejected.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.