Russia and Ukraine today held a new exchange of prisoners of war, as part of the agreement reached last month in Istanbul, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement without specifying the exact number of prisoners.

The two sides have exchanged prisoners several times during the war, the latest being on June 26.

“On July 4, a new group of Russian soldiers returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, releasing a video showing about 15 soldiers shouting “Russia!” while draped in Russian flags.

This exchange was confirmed by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who clarified that Kyiv had recovered military personnel, “most of whom had been held by the Russians since 2022”, as well as civilians.
“Talks must continue, Ukraine’s goal is to free all our compatriots held by Russia,” the president said on Telegram.

The President of Ukraine has said that all the citizens of Ukraine have been allowed to get rid of the Russian Federation.

On June 2, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to release all prisoners of war under the age of 25 or seriously wounded, and return the remains of dead fighters, the only tangible result of the Istanbul negotiations.

Both sides recently stopped providing figures on the number of POWs released in those exchanges.

The return of Donald Trump to the White House earlier this year allowed for the resumption in May of close peace talks between Ukrainians and Russians, which had been suspended since spring 2022.

However, the two rounds of talks, which have so far been held under Turkish mediation, have not led to any significant developments, and dates for the third round of talks have yet to be set.