6,000 for 6,000: Kyiv and Moscow have agreed on the largest exchange of fallen soldiers since the full-scale war began in the latest meeting in Istanbul.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who leads the Ukrainian delegation, has announced that the parties agreed on a new large-scale swap at the negotiations.
“We have agreed on exchanges. We will soon provide details,” he said after the talks.
According to the minister, the focus was on three key categories:
- Severely wounded and seriously ill prisoners of war,
- Young soldiers aged 18 to 25,
- Bodies of fallen soldiers.
The sides have agreed on an “all-for-all” exchange principle for each category. This includes exchanging 6,000 bodies of fallen soldiers for the same number from the Russian side.
In addition, the Ukrainian side handed over to Russia a list of several hundred kidnapped Ukrainian children who were illegally deported to Russia. Ukraine insists on their immediate return.
The negotiations ended following Ukraine’s biggest Spiderweb operation, which damaged or destroyed 40 Russian aircraft. Many military experts and officials have praised the strikes, calling them the future of modern warfare.