Russia has not agreed to ceasefire, but there will be the biggest exchange during the war - Umerov

During the second round of talks in Istanbul on 2 June, Ukraine and Russia reached an agreement on the exchange of prisoners. According to Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, the parties agreed to hold exchanges in the format of "all for all" with a focus on several categories - seriously wounded, seriously ill and young servicemen aged 18-25.

In addition, an agreement was reached on the transfer of the bodies of the dead - each side intends to return 6,000 bodies of its soldiers.

Umerov stressed that the Ukrainian side continues to insist on the release of all prisoners and civilian hostages. Also discussed during the meeting were the ceasefire, the return of illegally deported children and a possible meeting of the leaders of the two states. However, according to the minister, specific agreements have been fixed so far only on the exchanges. Other details of the negotiations will be made public later.

Earlier Socialportal reported that the Ukrainian delegation at the talks in Istanbul intends to present a detailed roadmap to sustainable peace. This was reported by Reuters, which had the relevant document in its possession. The plan was prepared by Kiev and is aimed at working out real steps to end the war.

The key point of the Ukrainian proposal is a complete ceasefire for at least 30 days. After the cease-fire is established, the sides should carry out a comprehensive exchange of prisoners of war and return to Ukraine the children illegally taken to the occupied territories.