Young Soldiers POW Exchange Marks First Step in Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks

Russia and Ukraine have commenced the exchange of prisoners of war following an agreement established during last week’s peace discussions in Turkey. Moscow indicated that the initial phase focuses on returning younger soldiers.

During negotiations in Istanbul last Monday, both parties consented to release all injured troops and captured soldiers aged 25 and under, which amounts to over 1,000 individuals per side. Additionally, they committed to exchanging the remains of 6,000 deceased soldiers from both sides.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry’s Telegram post on Monday, «In line with the agreements between Russia and Ukraine, the first group of Russian servicemen below the age of 25 has been returned from areas controlled by the Kyiv regime.»

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the exchange on X, noting that it «will proceed in several phases over the next few days.»

While neither side revealed the number of soldiers involved in this initial exchange, Russia stated it returned «a similar number» of Ukrainian service members. Russian chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky mentioned on Saturday that Moscow has provided a list of 640 Ukrainian prisoners of war for release.

According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, those returning soldiers are receiving mental health and medical care in Belarus before being sent home for further treatment.

Zelensky characterized the exchange as «rather intricate, involving many sensitive details,» and stated that discussions are ongoing «almost every day.» The Kremlin indicated earlier on Monday that it was willing to adhere to the agreements, while alleging that Ukraine had not fulfilled its commitments.

On Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Kyiv had not proposed a date for the POW exchange. In response, Ukraine accused Moscow of engaging in «underhanded tactics» and not complying with the agreed-upon terms.

Medinsky asserted that Ukraine failed to collect the bodies of its fallen soldiers. Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War responded by stating that no date had been arranged and that the roster of names provided by Russia did not align with the terms of their agreement.