Trump claims major Ukraine-Russia prisoner exchange completed
Photo: Donald Trump, 47th President of the United States of America (Getty Images)
President of the United States of America Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that a major prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia has been completed.
"A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine. It will go into effect shortly. This could lead to something big???" Trump said.
Exchange in 1000 for 1000 format
On May 16, Kyiv and Moscow held their first direct talks in three years. The delegations met in Istanbul, Türkiye. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also arrived in the country, planning a personal meeting with Vladimir Putin, but the latter ignored the call for a face-to-face dialogue.
The Ukrainian delegation was headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and the Russian delegation was headed by the dictator's aide, Vladimir Medinsky.
During the talks, the parties agreed to exchange prisoners of war in a 1000-for-1000 format.
Only yesterday, on May 22, the Kremlin said that the exchange would take time to implement, but Kyiv and Moscow are interested in making it happen as soon as possible.
On the same day, Zelenskyy held a meeting on the exchange. According to him, they analyzed the lists submitted by the Russian side.
In particular, a member of the State Duma argued that it was impossible to carry out a 1000-for-1000 exchange of prisoners in one day, and that it could be divided into several stages.
