In what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described as a breakthrough in stalled diplomacy, Ukraine and Russia have agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war on each side, marking the largest POW swap since the full-scale war began in 2022.

Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each during peace talks held in Istanbul on Friday, in what would be the biggest prisoner swap of the conflict. The negotiations, which lasted less than two hours and were mediated by Turkey,

Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war from each side, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov told Ukrainian TV on Friday as talks in Istanbul ended.