Russia and Ukraine have agreed on a large-scale prisoner exchange. The main thing

The second round of negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul lasted more than an hour. The representatives of the countries exchanged documents on the settlement of the conflict and agreed on the largest prisoner exchange and the transfer of the bodies of dead servicemen since the beginning of the conflict. What is known about the results of the meeting is in the Izvestia article.

How was the meeting?

• The talks between the Russian and Ukrainian sides took place on June 2 at the Chigaran Palace in Istanbul. The head of the Russian delegation, Assistant to the President of Russia Vladimir Medinsky, said that the Russian memorandum on the preparation of the truce, submitted to the Ukrainian side, consists of two parts and includes proposals for a full-fledged ceasefire.

• The exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine will be equal. Medinsky clarified that it is planned to return from 1,000 to 1,200 people in total. This exchange will be the largest in the history of the special military operation. Military personnel under the age of 25, as well as the seriously ill and wounded, will be replaced in an "all for all" format. The parties agreed to organize medical commissions for the exchange of seriously wounded soldiers, which should become regular.

Terms of contact: what did the delegations of the Russian Federation and Ukraine come to Istanbul to negotiate with

Why is Kiev making excessive demands and what will its envoys hear on June 2?

• Russia proposed to introduce a ceasefire regime for two to three days in certain sectors of the front so that the armies could take the bodies of the dead. Ukraine promised to work on this proposal in the near future. In addition, Moscow will unilaterally transfer to Kiev 6 thousand bodies of Ukrainian servicemen, which are now stored in morgues. As Medinsky explained, since the Russian Armed Forces are on the offensive, there are more casualties among the Ukrainian military.

• The issue of the transfer of children was discussed during the negotiations. Ukraine has handed over to Russia a list of 339 surnames of children. The Russian side promised to review the situation for each child mentioned and noted that the Russian military is behaving responsibly towards children: 101 children have recently been transferred to Ukraine, and Kiev has returned 20 children.

Statements by the Ukrainian side

• The Ukrainian delegation was again headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. He also said that the parties had agreed on a prisoner exchange. According to Umerov, Kiev agreed to the exchange of bodies of dead soldiers proposed by Russia according to the formula "6000 for 6000". At the same time, Medinsky noted that Moscow does not know whether Ukraine has the bodies of the dead Russians and whether they will be transferred.

Disarmament progress: demilitarization of Kiev will be discussed at the talks in Istanbul

There was no response from the Ukrainian side about the agreement to the meeting.

• The Ukrainian side handed over a list of children it considers to have been illegally exported to Russia, and again offered to hold a meeting of the leaders of the countries to resolve key issues. Umerov suggested that US President Donald Trump could also take part in this meeting.

• Ukraine has again demanded a complete ceasefire for 30 days as a condition for discussing the issue of territories, security guarantees and sanctions. Even before the negotiations, Kiev, in its memorandum, insisted on a cease-fire and security guarantees, and also refused to recognize the loss of territories. Russia presented its proposals for a peaceful settlement directly at the meeting. Kiev believes it will take a week to study the documents. The Ukrainian side proposed to hold the next negotiations in the period from June 20 to June 30.

• President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, who was at the NATO summit in Vilnius at the time of the talks, told reporters that he had urged his partners to increase pressure on Russia, restrict its oil trade, and impose additional sanctions and secondary duties on the country. He confirmed that the parties had exchanged documents and were preparing a new prisoner exchange.

Istanbul 2.0: what is known about possible negotiations between Russia and Ukraine on May 15

Information about the meeting level was not disclosed.

Western reaction

• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia excellent. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda expressed support for Ukraine and its aspirations to join NATO at the NATO summit, and also called increasing military assistance to Kiev one of the most important tasks in the coming months.: both investments in the Ukrainian defense industry and the supply of air defense systems and drones. Poland has stated the threat from Russia and the need to build up the military potential of NATO countries and strengthen the strategic alliance with the United States.

• This is the second meeting of the Russian and Ukrainian delegations. The previous one took place in Istanbul on May 16.: The parties agreed to develop a ceasefire plan and a prisoner exchange in the "1000 by 1000" format, as well as on the next meeting. Russia has stated that it considers the talks as a continuation of the peace process interrupted by Ukraine in 2022.

• On the eve of the meeting on June 1, accidents with human casualties occurred on roads and railways in Russia, presumably caused by the blowing up of bridges. Ukraine has not commented on these incidents. Drone strikes were also carried out against Russian targets in the Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur regions, according to Kiev, this operation had been planned and prepared for a year and a half.