Trump says Russia-Ukraine prisoners swap completed, hints at 'something big'
US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that a major prisoner swap between the two nations has been completed in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.'A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine. It will go into effect shortly. Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big???,' Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social.A prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia is under way but has not yet been completed, as reported by the news agency Reuters.The announcement comes a day after a Ukrainian military intelligence official confirmed that Ukraine had submitted a list of 1,000 prisoners of war to Russia in preparation for the swap.The exchange deal was reportedly finalised earlier this month in Istanbul during the first direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials in more than three years.advertisementHundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides are believed to have been wounded or killed in Europe's deadliest war since World War Two, although neither side publishes accurate casualty figures. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians have also died as Russian forces have besieged and bombarded Ukrainian cities.Meanwhile, Ukraine has said it is ready for a 30-day ceasefire immediately. However, Russia — which launched the war by invading its neighbour in 2022 and now occupies about a fifth of Ukrainian territory — has refused to pause its assaults until certain conditions are met. A member of the Ukrainian delegation called those conditions "non-starters".Trump, who has shifted US policy from supporting Ukraine towards accepting some of Russia's account of the war, had previously stated that he could tighten sanctions on Russia if Moscow blocked a peace deal. However, after speaking to President Vladimir Putin on Monday, he decided to take no action for now.Moscow says it is ready for peace talks while fighting continues, and it wants to address what it calls the war's "root causes". These include demands that Ukraine cede more territory, be disarmed, and barred from joining military alliances with the West. Kyiv has rejected these terms, calling them tantamount to surrender and a threat to its future security.With Reuters inputsTune InMust Watch
IN THIS STORY#Ukraine#Russia#Donald Trump#United States of America#Volodymyr Zelenskyy
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