The latest prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine is set to take place next week, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov. This development comes after Russia accused Ukraine of indefinitely postponing the swap. “The start of repatriation activities based on results and negotiations in Istanbul is scheduled for next week, as authorised persons on Tuesday were informed,” Budanov said in a statement. He added, “Everything is moving according to plan, despite the enemy’s dirty information game.”
The exchange is expected to involve the return of bodies of slain soldiers and the exchange of wounded and seriously ill prisoners of war, as well as prisoners under the age of 25. Russia claimed to have brought over 1,000 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers to the exchange point and handed over a list of 640 prisoners of war, but Ukraine denied the allegations, stating that Moscow should stop “playing dirty games.” Melinda Haring, a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, believes the process seems to be back on track. “This is a big deal, because the prisoner exchange will be the largest that Ukraine and Russia have engaged in so far,” she said.
The prisoner exchange has been a point of contention amidst the ongoing conflict, with both sides accusing each other of bad faith. Despite some initial momentum from the United States, the two sides are no closer to a temporary ceasefire agreement. US President Donald Trump appears to be losing patience, suggesting that Ukraine and Russia should be left to fight longer before being pulled apart. Meanwhile, fighting continues, with Russia claiming to have shot down 10 Ukrainian drones near Moscow and Ukrainian forces pounding Russian-held areas.
Russia has also made significant advances on the ground, with its forces reportedly entering Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time since the war began. The Russian Defence Ministry said tank units have reached the western border of the region and are continuing their offensive. Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford noted that this development is significant, as Dnipropetrovsk is not part of Russia’s plan to annex Ukrainian territory. “Putin sees Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhia as being part of Russia – Dnipropetrovsk is not part of that plan,” Stratford said.