Russia has confirmed it has received a list of Ukrainian prisoners of war proposed for release in a landmark prisoner swap involving 1,000 captives from each side — the largest such exchange since the war began more than two years ago.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agency Interfax that Moscow received the list from Kyiv after previously submitting its own roster of prisoners it wants returned. The lists are part of a negotiated agreement struck during high-level talks held last week in Istanbul.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking after a follow-up meeting on the planned exchange, confirmed his government had received the Russian list. He reiterated that securing the return of Ukrainian prisoners remains a top priority for his administration.
“Bringing our people home from Russian captivity is one of Ukraine’s most important goals,” Zelensky said. “I’m thankful to everyone involved in making this happen.” He added that the swap agreement was “perhaps the only meaningful result” of the discussions held in Türkiye.
The exchange, which would see 1,000 prisoners released by each side, marks a rare moment of cooperation amid a conflict that has only grown more entrenched with time.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, Russian President Vladimir Putin made an unannounced visit to the Kursk region — his first trip there since Moscow claimed to have pushed Ukrainian forces out of the area last month.
Footage broadcast on Russian state media showed Putin touring the construction site of the Kursk nuclear power plant in a hard hat, flanked by officials and plant workers. He also met with local volunteer organizations in the city of Kurchatov during the surprise visit.
The trip comes weeks after the Kremlin declared that Russian troops had repelled what it described as the largest Ukrainian incursion into Russian territory since World War II.
