Russia has accused Ukraine of postponing a large-scale prisoner swap and the repatriation of the bodies of dead soldiers they had agreed on during peace talks in Istanbul.
Russia’s top negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky said on social media that Ukraine has “unexpectedly postponed for an indefinite period, both the acceptance of the bodies and the exchange of prisoners of war.”
He asserted that in accordance with the Istanbul agreements, on June 6,2025, Russia began a humanitarian operation to hand over to Ukraine more than 6,000 bodies of killed Ukrainian servicemen, as well as to exchange wounded and seriously ill prisoners of war and prisoners of war under the age of 25.
He said that 1,212 bodies of killed Ukrainian soldiers were in refrigerated containers at the exchange point.
Medinsky disclosed that Russia has also handed over to Ukraine the first list of 640 prisoners of war, categorised as “wounded, seriously ill and young people,” in order to begin the exchange. “The Russian Defence Ministry’s contact group is on the border with Ukraine,” he said, adding that Ukrainian negotiators were not at the exchange location.
He urged Ukraine to strictly adhere to the schedule and the agreements, and to immediately proceed with the exchange.
“We are on site. We are fully prepared to work. International TV channels, news agencies and correspondents are welcome to come and see for themselves that this is indeed the case.”
Also, the Russian Defence Ministry in a statement, citing Lt Gen Alexander Zorin, said that Ukraine is refraining from setting a date for the new round of prisoner exchange, agreed by Russian and Ukrainian delegations at talks in Istanbul earlier this week.
Delegations from Moscow and Kyiv agreed on Monday to swap all wounded soldiers and those under the age of 25 who were still held as POWs.
It was the only concrete outcome from the talks, at which Russia has repeatedly rejected Ukrainian calls for an immediate ceasefire.
After the peace talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the exchange would take place this weekend, while Russia said it was ready for Saturday, Sunday or Monday.
Ukraine Responds To Russia’s Accusations
Responding to Russia’s accusations, Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said no date had been agreed for the return of bodies.
It also said a list of names Russia said would be released did not match the terms of the agreement. “Unfortunately, instead of constructive dialogue, we are again faced with manipulations,” it said in a statement on social media.
“We call on the Russian side to stop playing dirty games and return to constructive work to bring people back to both sides and to clearly implement the agreement in the coming days.”
Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War
The exchange was to be the largest of the war, topping last month’s 1,000-for-1,000 swap that was agreed at a first round of talks in Istanbul.
Petro Yatsenko from Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said that the exchange of prisoners and bodies agreed at the last round of talks in Istanbul, has been moved to next week.
According to a statement from his office, Yatsenko said, “statements by representatives of the aggressor state regarding the alleged start of the return of bodies or repatriation measures following agreements in Istanbul are not true.”
Yatsenko’s office said preparations are still under way for the exchange of seriously ill and severely injured individuals, young people, and the return of the bodies of soldiers.
The statement added, “Any unilateral statements or actions by representatives of the aggressor state are yet another manipulation concerning the sensitive and important issue of repatriating the bodies of our defenders.”
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