Latest news with #prisonerExchange
Russia Today
5 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Putin thanks Erdogan for organizing Moscow-Kiev talks
Russian President Vladimir Putin has thanked his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for helping arrange the recent direct talks between Moscow and Kiev, the Kremlin announced on Monday following a phone call between the two leaders. Earlier this month, Russian and Ukrainian representatives held a second round of direct negotiations in Istanbul. After the meeting, the two sides announced having agreed to carry out the exchange of prisoners of war. Russia also offered to return the remains of fallen Ukrainian soldiers as a humanitarian gesture. The sides also exchanged draft memorandums outlining their respective visions of a roadmap toward a peace deal. During Monday's phone call with Erdogan, Putin 'expressed gratitude to the Turkish side for helping facilitate the direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations,' the official statement said. The Russian leader also noted that Moscow 'strictly complies with the agreements' reached during the second Istanbul talks, which included the transfer of bodies and POW exchanges. On Monday, Russia's Defense Ministry announced that Moscow had transferred 1,248 more bodies of Ukrainian servicemen and received the remains of 51 slain Russian soldiers in return. After the exchange, Moscow's lead negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, stated that Russia had completed the handover of the remains of 6,060 Ukrainian soldiers and thus had fulfilled its Istanbul promises. The Russian Defense Ministry has subsequently announced that it is ready to transfer another 2,239 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers. During Moscow's initial attempt to return the Ukrainian remains over the previous weekend, Kiev's representatives failed to show up to the exchange point, claiming that they had not agreed on the date of the transfer and accusing Moscow of 'using humanitarian issues for information purposes.' Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded at the time by accusing Kiev of 'genocide against its own people' and claiming that Zelensky's government 'does not need its people, either dead or alive.' Soon thereafter, Kiev began to accept the remains of its soldiers, which were handed over in several transfers over the past week.
South China Morning Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Putin wishes Trump happy birthday, says Russia ready for new Ukraine talks
Russian President Vladimir Putin told his US counterpart Donald Trump on Saturday that Moscow was ready to hold a fresh round of peace talks with Kyiv after June 22, once the sides completed exchanging prisoners and soldiers' bodies. Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, did not mention whether Ukraine would agree to the next round of talks, only saying that 'the exchanges will be completed and the parties will discuss the next step'. Putin and Trump held a call for the fifth time since the Republican took office and sought to reset relations with Moscow, in a stark pivot from the approach of his predecessor Joe Biden's administration. Trump's approach has stunned Washington's allies, raising doubts about the future of US aid to Kyiv and leaving Europe scrambling to work out how it can fill any gap in supplies if Trump decides to pull US military, financial and intelligence support. 'Both leaders expressed satisfaction with their personal relations' during the call, in which they also discussed the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, the Kremlin said. It added that the presidents 'communicate in a businesslike manner and seek solutions to pressing issues on the bilateral and international agenda, no matter how complex these issues may be'.
Malay Mail
6 days ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Putin signals readiness for fresh Ukraine talks in Trump's birthday call
MOSCOW, June 15 — Russian President Vladimir Putin told his US counterpart Donald Trump yesterday that Moscow was ready to hold a fresh round of peace talks with Kyiv after June 22, once the sides complete exchanging prisoners and soldiers' bodies. Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky meanwhile did not mention whether Ukraine would agree to the next round of talks, only saying that 'the exchanges will be completed and the parties will discuss the next step.' Putin and Trump held a call for the fifth time since the Republican took office and sought to reset relations with Moscow, in a stark pivot from the approach of his predecessor Joe Biden's administration. Trump's approach has stunned Washington's allies, raising doubts about the future of US aid to Kyiv and leaving Europe scrambling to work out how it can fill any gap in supplies if Trump decides to pull US military, financial and intelligence support. 'Both leaders expressed satisfaction with their personal relations' during the call, in which they also discussed the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, the Kremlin said. It added that the presidents 'communicate in a businesslike manner and seek solutions to pressing issues on the bilateral and international agenda, no matter how complex these issues may be'. 'Happy birthday' call Trump posted on Truth Social to say Putin had called 'to very nicely wish me a Happy Birthday' on the day he turned 79, but that 'more importantly' the two discussed the Iran-Israel crisis. 'He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end,' Trump said, referring to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Zelensky urged the United States to 'shift tone' in its dialogue with Russia, saying it was 'too warm' and would not help to end the fighting. 'Any signals of reduced aid, or of treating Ukraine and Russia as equals, are deeply unfair. Russia is the aggressor. They started this war. They do not want to end it,' the Ukrainian President said on X. The recent escalation sparked fears Washington might relocate resources at its expense, to beef up the defence of its close ally Israel which unleashed a large-scale attack on Iran Friday. 'We would like to see aid to Ukraine not decrease because of this,' he said. 'Last time, this was a factor that slowed down aid to Ukraine.' More soldiers exchanged Earlier on Saturday, Ukraine and Russia swapped prisoners in the fourth such exchange this week, part of a large-scale plan to bring back 1,000 wounded prisoners from each side and return bodies of killed soldiers. The prisoner agreement was the only visible result of two recent rounds of talks in Istanbul. Photos published by Zelensky on Telegram showed men of various ages, mostly with shaved heads, wearing camouflage and draped in Ukrainian flags. Some were injured, others disembarked from buses and hugged those welcoming them, or were seen calling someone by phone, sometimes covering their faces or smiling. Moscow's defence ministry released its own video showing men in uniforms holding Russian flags, clapping and chanting 'Glory to Russia' and 'hooray', some raising their fists in the air. As part of the Istanbul agreements, Kyiv also said it had received another 1,200 unidentified bodies from Russia. It said Moscow had said they were those of 'Ukrainian citizens, including military personnel.' Ukraine did not say whether it returned any bodies to Russia. Russia has rejected calls to halt its three-year offensive. It has demanded Ukraine cede territory and renounce Western military support if it wants peace. Since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, the assault has forced millions of people to flee their homes as towns and cities across eastern Ukraine have been flattened by heavy bombardments. Meanwhile, Russia intensified its advances along the front line, especially on the northeastern Ukrainian region of Sumy, where it seeks to establish a 'buffer zone'. By doing it, Moscow seeks to protect its bordering region of Kursk, previously partly occupied by Ukraine. Zelensky said Russia's advance on Sumy was stopped and that Kyiv's forces had managed to retake one village. He also denied Moscow's earlier claims that its troops entered the Dnipropetrovsk region. He said 53,000 Russian soldiers were involved in the Sumy operation. — AFP
Sky News
7 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News
The bodies of more than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers returned to Kyiv after prisoner swap
Why you can trust Sky News More than 1,000 Ukrainian bodies have been handed back to Kyiv after a prisoner-of-war exchange - as Volodymyr Zelenskyy renews calls for sanctions. The Ukrainian president said on social media that many of those released by Russia had been "held captive since 2022". "It is our absolute duty to free them all," he added. "And we are working toward exactly that - to leave no one behind in the enemy's hands. I thank everyone who is helping." Russia's defence ministry said it had handed over the bodies of 1,200 dead Ukrainian soldiers on Friday, but state media reported on Saturday that Moscow had not received any of its war dead back from Kyiv. The ministry added that its soldiers are in Belarus, where they are receiving medical treatment before being transferred back to Russia. It comes after both sides agreed to exchange those held captive at talks in Istanbul earlier this month. However, the talks failed to lead to a ceasefire. In a post on X, Mr Zelenskyy renewed calls for sanctions on Russia, saying that "no one has been able to stop Putin" and that "he must lose money" to end the war. "Capping the price of Russian energy is critical, because oil is their main source of income," Mr Zelenskyy added. " What happens in the Middle East is now driving oil prices up, and that, in turn, affects Europe's security. "That's why oil price caps are such a powerful tool." He went on to say talks between the US and Russia "feels too warm", adding: "Putin must understand clearly: America will stand with Ukraine, including by imposing sanctions and supporting our army. "Any signals of reduced aid, or of treating Ukraine and Russia as equals, are deeply unfair. Russia is the aggressor. They started this war. They do not want to end it." It comes as the Ukrainian president dismissed claims that Russian troops had crossed into the central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk - which had remained under Ukrainian control since the war started in February 2022. Mr Zelenskyy also said Ukrainian troops had stopped Russian troops from advancing in the northeastern Sumy region, and are fighting to regain control of the border. He said: "You should understand that the enemy has been stopped there. And the maximum depth at which the fighting takes place is 7km from the border."
Times
13-06-2025
- Health
- Times
After two years, a shriek of joy from the Ukrainian prisoner's wife
They came in ambulances, not coaches. The first to emerge were pushed in wheelchairs up the ramp to the hospital door; the next walked slowly up on their own, their sunken eyes passing over the crowds thronging below. These Ukrainian prisoners of war, the wounded, the sick and the disabled, were the latest to be released in a series of prisoner swaps with Russia, the only concrete measure agreed at negotiations overseen by the Americans that began in Istanbul last month. There were no joyful reunions. All those swapped for their Russian counterparts were immediately ushered into the hospital by waiting medical staff. President Zelensky welcomed them home as heroes but said 'all require medical treatment' being 'severely wounded and seriously ill'. A day earlier, Russia and Ukraine exchanged the bodies of 1,200 each of their fallen after an ugly war of words over who was holding up proceedings. After a prisoner exchange fell through last week, Russia drove refrigerated lorries to the border and flung open the doors to show piled up body bags containing dead Ukrainian soldiers — a move denounced by Zelensky as 'a dirty political and propaganda game'. The exchanges, which restarted this week with the youngest prisoners of war from both sides, have become magnets of desperate hope and grief for the families of the missing. Outside the hospital mothers, fathers, sisters, wives, girlfriends and children jostled to hold up photographs of their loved ones, calling out names, battalions and where the missing were last seen. Suddenly there was a scream from the crowd. 'Denys, Denys!' a young woman shouted, holding her toddler daughter. It was the first she had learnt that her husband, missing in action for two years, was alive. Medical staff caught her as she collapsed and was put into a wheelchair. She was the only family member allowed inside as the soldiers underwent examination and debriefing before their transfer to rehabilitation. The walking wounded, who arrived later by bus, were less willing to be rushed inside. Shaven-headed, they stood on the ramp outside the hospital door, blinking in the sunlight as their eyes raked over the photographs of their missing comrades held aloft by the crowds. One sadly shook his head as he looked at face after face. Another held out his hands and studied each photograph closely. 'Yes,' he said. 'This one I know.' At the sight of a returned prisoner at a fifth floor window, the crowd surged, shouting out for information. From the window, he shouted the phone number of his former cellmate's mother which he had memorised to let her know he was still alive. 'He is from Azov,' he shouted. 'He was in my cell.' Ukraine nor to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is tasked under the Geneva Convention with facilitating communications between PoWs and their families. • 'They want to destroy everything' — the families fleeing Putin's brutal offensive 'These men are not just in a very bad condition, they have been held incommunicado for up to three years,' said Petro Yatsenko, spokesman for Ukraine's Co-ordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. 'They do not know anything that has happened in the war. They don't know if Ukraine is completely broken.' EPA On their medical treatment in captivity, he cited one prisoner released earlier this week, who told a Russian military doctor he was experiencing excruciating pain in his foot. 'The doctor said, 'Show me where' and he showed him and the doctor beat him right in that place,' he said. 'The doctor did that.'
