At the negotiations with the Russian Federation, the exchange of prisoners "1000 for 1000" was discussed - Umyerov

Ukraine and Russia discussed the possibility of a large-scale prisoner exchange using the "1000 for 1000" formula during negotiations. This was stated by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov to journalists, as reported by UNN.

We are potentially preparing a meeting at the level of country leaders. We talked about an exchange of 1000 for 1000. We are also working on other modalities of this exchange. First, we need to deal with the prisoner exchange, and then we will inform you of our next steps.

Umerov spoke about the issues discussed during the negotiations with Russia Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that the Ukrainian delegation uses any platforms, any opportunities to return Ukrainian political prisoners, children, and civilians. He said this on the air of the national telethon, Ukrinform reports. "Any platforms, any opportunities, we use them all. The task is set: all our political prisoners, all our children, all civilians must be returned," Umerov said. He noted that negotiations are ongoing on all possible platforms. 16.05.25, 16:26 • 3663 views

Recall

Turkish, American, and Ukrainian delegations met at Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul under the chairmanship of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan within the framework of Russian-Ukrainian peace talks on May 15 around 10:45 AM. The talks lasted until approximately 12 PM.

The trilateral meeting between Turkey, Russia, and Ukraine, which was to take place at the same location, was scheduled for 12:30 PM. However, the Russian delegation arrived late. The meeting started around 1:36 PM.

According to media reports, Ukraine accused Russia of undermining the negotiations, demanding they be held without the US and Turkey.

These are the first direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow since those held shortly after the full-scale invasion by the Kremlin in 2022.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Turkey ready for negotiations, but the Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin refused to attend direct talks, even though he himself had proposed them earlier, and instead sent a lower-level delegation.

US President Donald Trump hinted that he was ready to join high-level talks in Turkey but dispelled any hope of a breakthrough after confirming Putin's absence.