russia has provided Ukraine with a "peace memorandum" outlining its "usual" conditions for a ceasefire and peace agreement. The kremlin's position remains virtually unchanged: the aggressor country demands the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the territories it has already partially seized (Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson). This is reported by Axios, citing Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, reports UNN.
Details
The talks in Istanbul ended without a clear breakthrough, except for an agreement on another exchange of prisoners of war. russia continues to reject US President Donald Trump's demand for an immediate ceasefire. However, delegations from the two countries met in Turkey for a second round of talks a day after Ukraine carried out a stunning drone attack deep inside Russia.
Umerov said that all prisoners of war under the age of 25 or those in serious physical condition will be exchanged.
The minister added that the russian position, as outlined in the peace memorandum, remains "usual" and includes demands for Ukraine to withdraw troops from the regions it claims to have seized certain settlements or areas there, the Ukrainian official said.
The russians also offered to return 10 children taken from Ukraine to Ukraine by July 10. This, according to Axios, was reported by two Ukrainian officials, noting that this is only a small part of the number of Ukrainian children held in Russia.
According to two unnamed Ukrainian officials, the head of the russian negotiating team, Vladimir Medinsky, denied at the meeting that russia had kidnapped tens of thousands of Ukrainian children, calling it propaganda.
Stop calling crazy numbers. We will return everyone who is in the russian Federation. There is no kidnapping. russian soldiers do not kidnap, they only saved them because their lives were in danger. Don't put on a show for European sympathetic aunts who don't have children themselves
Reminder
The head of the Ukrainian delegation, Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov, said that only today, June 2, during the negotiations of the delegations in Istanbul, russia handed over its "memorandum" to Ukraine regarding a ceasefire.