In what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described as a breakthrough in stalled diplomacy, Ukraine and Russia have agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war on each side, marking the largest POW swap since the full-scale war began in 2022.

Ukraine is negotiating a large-scale prisoner exchange with Russia in a 1,000 for 1,000 format, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated during a press briefing. According to him, Ukraine is currently discussing the exchange of prisoners of war.

Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each during peace talks held in Istanbul on Friday, in what would be the biggest prisoner swap of the conflict. The negotiations, which lasted less than two hours and were mediated by Turkey, marked the first time the nations have engaged in direct peace talks since the war began.