WASHINGTON, May 23. /TASS/. Russia and Ukraine have agreed to hold a large-scale exchange of prisoners of war, which will take place soon, US President Donald Trump reported.
"A major prisoner swap [deal] was just completed between Russia and Ukraine. It will go into effect shortly. Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big?" the US leader wrote on his Truth Social page.
On May 22, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS that Moscow had received a counter list of prisoners from Kiev for a "1,000-for-1,000" swap. Earlier, Peskov noted that Russia is interested in holding the exchange as soon as possible, but it is a rather intensive process.
The first round of talks between Russia and Ukraine took place on May 16 in Istanbul. Following the meeting, Moscow and Kiev agreed to hold the "1,000-for-1,000" swap, to detail their vision of a potential future ceasefire and to continue negotiations. The head of the Russian delegation, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, said that Russia was satisfied with the meeting's outcome.