Russia and Ukraine agree to largest-ever prisoner swap—but peace talks in Istanbul stall over Putin’s “outrageous” demands

Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Istanbul on Friday for their first direct peace talks in more than three years. The nearly two-hour meeting resulted in agreement on a major prisoner exchange—but little progress on broader issues, including a ceasefire.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who led Kyiv’s delegation, announced a “1,000 for 1,000” prisoner swap, potentially the largest since the war began. While confirming that a date had been set, he declined to share it with the press.

Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who headed Moscow’s delegation, confirmed the exchange and expressed satisfaction with the outcome. He said Russia had taken note of Ukraine’s request for a presidential-level meeting and added that both sides must now prepare ceasefire proposals for further discussion.

However, according to multiple Ukrainian sources, progress stalled over Russia’s demands—described as excessive and unrealistic. A Ukrainian diplomatic source told Reuters that Moscow had demanded Ukraine withdraw troops from its own territory as a condition for a ceasefire. “Detached from reality,” the source said of the proposals.

A source in Kyiv told The Telegraph that Russia considered a Ukrainian withdrawal from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts the “minimum” requirement in the talks. The Kremlin formally annexed these oblasts in September 2022, but currently only partially occupies them.

Interfax reported that the delegations paused the talks, with a possible resumption later in the day. A senior Ukrainian official told AFP that follow-up negotiations were “possible” on Friday but not yet scheduled, adding that both sides were prepared to continue “as long as necessary.”

The talks took place against a backdrop of diplomatic tension, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin for declining to attend the negotiations in person. Instead, Putin sent a lower-level delegation, which Zelenskyy said lacked the authority to make substantive decisions.