Moscow and Kyiv agree to large-scale prisoner exchange as Ukraine demands return of children deported to Russia

The second round of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, mediated by Turkey, following the talks held in mid-May, concluded Monday with modest progress. The Ukrainian side noted “good progress on the humanitarian front,” according to the assessment offered at the end of the meeting held in Istanbul, which lasted just over an hour. However, no progress was made regarding Ukraine’s request for an unconditional ceasefire. Although Kyiv sent its proposal to Moscow last week, the Russians did not present their document until its delegation arrived in Istanbul, so the parties have given themselves a week to study it. “The results are not negative,” summarized a Turkish diplomatic source present at the negotiations.

The agreement is a broad exchange of prisoners of war. “We agreed to focus on specific categories rather than numbers,” explained Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who leads the country’s negotiating team, adding it would constitute an “all for all” exchange instead of the previous arrangements where each side released the same number of prisoners. Under the new agreement, all prisoners in each category would be returned, regardless of the number captured by each side. The agreed categories are, on the one hand, “severely wounded or critically ill prisoners” and, on the other, “young soldiers aged between 18 and 25,” although in the latter case, the exchange will be carried out in batches of 1,000 for 1,000, clarified the leader of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky. Furthermore, the exchange of 6,000 bodies of fallen soldiers for the same number from the other side was agreed.

Kyiv also presented a list of “several hundred Ukrainian children who were deported to Russia,” Umerov explained. “This is a fundamental priority for us. If Russia is truly committed to the peace process, the return of even half the children from that list would be a positive signal,” the Ukrainian minister emphasized.

The head of the Russian delegation has denied that his country has displaced thousands of children from their homes, a war crime for which the International Criminal Court is seeking the arrest of Vladimir Putin and the Russian Children’s Ombudsman, Maria Lvova-Belova. “Whenever we tried to document what kind of children have been stolen by the Russian Federation, there were no lists,” said Medinsky, who justified the displacement of minors by the war — “children who found themselves caught between two fronts were evacuated, but if there is a family, they are returned” — stating that Moscow has already handed over 101 minors to Kyiv while Ukraine has returned another 20 to Russia. He later explained that, in Istanbul, “Ukraine has transmitted a list with the names of 339 families of Ukrainian minors who are demanding their return home,” reports Javier G. Cuesta from Moscow. “Not millions, not thousands,” Medinsky added.

Ceasefire negotiations

The main point of disagreement is a ceasefire, with Russia rejecting an unconditional cessation of hostilities. “Diplomatic efforts should be accompanied by a ceasefire, because only when the guns fall silent can we speak. It is very difficult for us to discuss territory or security guarantees while Ukrainian civilians are being killed daily,” criticized Ukrainian presidential advisor Oleksandr Bevz at the press conference following the meeting with Russia.

The Russian conditions for the truce were presented at the start of the meeting in Istanbul, within a memorandum that, Medinsky explained, consists of two parts: one focusing on the ceasefire and the other a roadmap on how to “achieve a real and lasting peace.” (Kyiv sent its proposal last week so the Russians could evaluate it before Monday’s meeting.)

The Ukrainian delegation declined to comment on the content of the Russian document, which they said they would evaluate in the coming days. However, Moscow had previously set as a condition for a ceasefire that Western countries halt arms supplies to Kyiv and that the Ukrainian government halt the mobilization of young people and reservists to fight on the front lines. To negotiate a complete peace, Russia’s demands were even tougher: Ukraine’s withdrawal from all Russian-occupied provinces, even if only partially, and Kyiv’s renunciation of access to Western institutions such as NATO and the EU.

Another point of contention is Russia’s refusal to allow the United States or European countries to participate in the negotiations. “We cannot talk about long-term security in Europe, to which Ukraine belongs, without the involvement of the United States and our European partners. When we reach the point of a ceasefire or a peace agreement, we need someone capable of monitoring it. And we believe the United States has the capacity to do so,” said Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya, who is also participating in the talks. In fact, the Ukrainian delegation met with representatives of Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom before and after the meeting with Russia to “coordinate positions.”

One aspect hovered over the meeting: the audacious Ukrainian attack on five military bases in Russian territory, where its drones destroyed or damaged a significant number of aircraft. Neither side would confirm or deny whether this was directly discussed in face-to-face contacts, but Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgi Tikhi warned: “Ukraine offered a ceasefire in early May; if Russia had accepted, those aircraft would still be in place.”

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition