Miroshnik spoke about the number of those returned from Ukrainian captivity

Since the beginning of this year alone, Russia has returned 596 people from Ukrainian captivity, Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large for crimes of the Kiev regime, told Izvestia.

Step at the meeting: the results of the first negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in three years

The first round of contacts took place in Istanbul — what's next

"The exchange agreements are not the first, they did not begin solely due to the resumption of the Istanbul format. Prior to this exchange, to date, since the beginning of the year alone, we have taken 596 children from Ukrainian captivity. Therefore, contacts have been worked out there, there is direct contact, there is the presence and complicity of individual international organizations and states, they are involved there. But there is a direct dialogue between the parties in this sense, and it did not start today," Miroshnik said.

The first direct talks between Moscow and Kiev in three years took place on May 16 in Istanbul. The parties agreed to present in detail their vision of the ceasefire, and also agreed to conduct a prisoner exchange according to the "1000 to 1000" formula.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

The opposite situation: a new round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine may take place again in Istanbul