Russia, Ukraine conduct prisoner swap amid new round of talks

MOSCOW -- Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday exchanged prisoners of conflict as delegations of the two countries held their third round of direct talks in the city of Istanbul, Turkiye.

The swap was conducted in accordance with the agreements both sides reached during their last talks on June 2 in Istanbul, the Russian defense ministry said in a statement.

The Russian servicemen are in Belarus and will be transported to Russia for treatment and rehabilitation in military medical institutions, it added.

Russia and Ukraine held two rounds of direct talks on May 16 and June 2 in Istanbul. During the second round, they agreed on an "all-for-all" exchange of seriously ill and wounded prisoners, and soldiers under the age of 25, as well as the transfer of the bodies of fallen soldiers.

More than 1,000 Ukrainian servicemen have returned home in accordance with the Istanbul agreements, according to Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.