Russian Military Accuses Ukraine Of Halting Agreed-To Prisoner Swap

The only bright spot or mutually agreed-upon deal to come out of two rounds of Istanbul peace talks between Russia and Ukraine has been the large-scale prisoner swaps. An initial one-thousand total POWs were returned during a record first swap following the phase one Istanbul talks.

But even this single area of agreement is now under threat, as the Russian government is currently accusing Ukraine of halting a previously agreed prisoner swap.

The second round of face-to-face negotiations in Istanbul on June 2 resulted in agreement for another 1,000 total POW swap, to also include the repatriation of over 6,000 bodies of deceased Ukrainian soldiers. 

But on Saturday, Russian defense ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Alexander Zorin, has complained, “Russia handed over to the Ukrainian side a list of 640 names, but the latter is so far refraining from setting a date for the return of these individuals,” according to state media translation. 

“We confirm our full readiness to implement the Istanbul agreements. We are prepared to transfer all bodies and proceed with the prisoner exchange as agreed,” Zorin emphasized.

Negotiators and backers of the process in Istanbul hoped that these so far successful prisoner swaps could be the basis for an expanded ceasefire. 

Russia has been pressing Kiev to agree to a two or three day truce in order to allow for the swap process to go smoother, but Ukraine has instead demanded a 30-day ceasefire without conditions.

The Kremlin has alleged that a fuller ‘temporary’ ceasefire would only be used by Ukraine forces to rearm and regroup along the front line positions in the Donbass.

According to the latest on the prisoner swap progress (or lack thereof) via RT:

According to Zorin, Moscow began the repatriation on Friday, with a convoy containing 1,212 bodies reaching the exchange point. He added that four other convoys, each carrying 1,200 sets of remains, are ready for transfer.

Russia decided to return the remains of over 6,000 slain Ukrainian soldiers in a unilateral humanitarian gesture during the talks in Istanbul on Monday. Both sides also agreed to exchange 1,200 prisoners each.

But Ukraine has rejected these latest Russian allegations as wartime propaganda: “Unfortunately, instead of a constructive dialogue, we are once again faced with manipulation and attempts to use sensitive humanitarian topics for informational purposes,” a statement from Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said.

Russian media previously hailed the swaps as a main tangible result of engagement in peace talks, but neither side has offered much else in the way of compromise:

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to conduct the biggest prisoner exchange since start of conflict, Vladimir Medinsky has told RT in Istanbul.

Exchange will be conducted on parity terms and will include up to 1,200 people from both sides.

Priority to the wounded, sick and soldiers… pic.twitter.com/ptoCec4bXh

— Margarita Simonyan (@M_Simonyan) June 2, 2025

President Zelensky has of late characterized the Istanbul talks thus far as largely fruitless and meaningless, saying that the Kremlin is using it as cover to buy more time for major aerial strikes on Ukrainian cities, also in order to pacify President Trump.