Ukraine and Russia conduct another POW swap
"We continue to take our people out of Russian captivity. This is the fourth exchange in a week," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media.
"In accordance with the Russian-Ukrainian agreements... another group of Russian servicemen was returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime," Russia's defence ministry said on Telegram.
Kyiv also said it had received another batch of 1,200 unidentified bodies from Russia, which it said Russia claimed "belong to Ukrainian citizens, including military personnel," as part of the Istanbul agreements as well.
Ukraine did not say whether it returned any bodies to Russia.
Photos published by Zelensky on Telegram showed men of various ages, mostly with shaved heads, wearing camouflage and draped in Ukrainian flags.
Some were injured, others disembarked from buses and hugged those welcoming them, or were seen calling someone by phone, sometimes covering their faces or smiling.
Moscow's defence ministry released its own video showing men in uniforms holding Russian flags, clapping and chanting "Russia, Russia", "glory to Russia" and "hooray", some raising their fists in the air.
The exchange came as Russia repeatedly rejected ceasefire calls and intensified its offensive along the front line, and especially in the northeastern Sumy region, where it seeks to establish a "buffer zone" to protect its Kursk region, previously partly occupied by Ukraine.
Zelensky claimed Russia's advance on Sumy was stopped, adding that Kyiv's forces have managed to retake one village.
According to the Ukrainian president, Russia was using 53,000 men in the Sumy operation.
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The picture that proves America is back
Political advisor and commentator CJ Pearson says a photo posted by US President Donald Trump of world leaders gathered at the Oval Office to discuss an end to the Russia-Ukraine war is a 'breath of fresh air'. 'I see an America that is finally leading from the front again,' Mr Pearson told Sky News host Rita Panahi. 'The world respects us again; the world fears us again, and that's exactly what we need to do if we are going to bring peace to the world again. 'We are inching closer and closer to peace every single day because of his bold and decisive leadership.'
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Key obstacles still leave peace in Ukraine out of reach
The diplomatic process pushing for an end to Europe's bloodiest war since World War Two is picking up steam after talks between United States President Donald Trump and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But with key obstacles - including the control of Ukraine's eastern territories and post-war security guarantees - left up in the air, the path towards a peace deal remains unclear. Associate Professor Matthew Sussex, of ANU's Centre for European Studies, says the meeting between the US and Ukrainian leaders was a marked improvement over their stand-off in the White House back in February. "It was very, very different to what happened when Zelenskyy was effectively ambushed by Trump and by Vance, and told that he wasn't grateful enough and effectively that he was a dictator. This time you had a phalanx of Europe's most powerful leaders ringed around Trump's desk to show that Ukraine this time was bringing friends and has lots of them. Whether or not this amounts to something that advances the peace process is something we're really going to have to wait and see." President Zelenskyy says he was told during the meetings that the United States will be part of a post-war peacekeeping effort to deter further Russian attacks. "We spoke about security guarantees, this is a key topic, as we start to end the war. That is, about what defence has to be there in the end, and we have begun to work on the issue. It is important that the United States make a clear signal, namely that they will be among the countries that will help to coordinate and also will participate in security guarantees for Ukraine. I believe this is a big step forward. I cannot say yet how it will go or disclose all the details, but it is important that there is a political will and there are political decisions." In an effort to sweeten the deal, the Ukrainian leader has offered to commit to purchase almost AU$140 billion in US weapons in exchange for help with deterring further Russian aggression. The Trump administration says the President has directed his national security team to work with European allies on these security guarantees. The President says the US may offer air support but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says the US has ruled out sending troops to Ukraine. "The president has definitively stated US boots will not be on the ground in Ukraine, but we can certainly help in the coordination and perhaps provide other means of security guarantees to our European allies. The president understands security guarantees are crucially important to ensure a lasting peace, and he has directed his national security team to coordinate with our friends in Europe and also to continue to cooperate and discuss these matters with Ukraine and Russia as well." This effort forms part of a new so-called 'Coalition of the Willing' which is expected to be a combined peace-keeping force negotiated in an upcoming peace deal. But Dr Sussex says this is likely to be something Russia won't consider during negotiations. "Zelenskyy has said that there are 30 countries participating. Some would provide troops, some would provide materiel assistance, some would provide intelligence sharing. But the bigger question there, of course, is whether Vladimir Putin goes for it, because a very consistent line from the Kremlin has been that there should be absolutely no European forces on the ground in Ukraine. And without that, that reminds us of the very flimsy assurances that were given to Ukraine in 1994 when Ukraine was persuaded to give up its nuclear weapons. And of course, that's something that they regret to this day." The other key issue that remains to be addressed is the possibility of a land swap, or the ceding of Ukraine's eastern regions to Russian control. Ukraine has firmly rejected surrendering any of their territory to Russia and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says they cannot be forced to make such a concession. "The Russian demand that Kyiv should give up the free parts of the Donbas is comparable, to put it in perspective, to a proposal that the US should have to give up Florida. A sovereign state cannot simply make such a decision. This is a decision that Ukraine must make itself during the course of negotiations." Dr Jessica Genauer, a foreign affairs expert at Flinders University, says it is incredibly unlikely that President Putin will budge on handing back territory captured throughout the war. "They've managed to take military control over up to about 20 per cent of Ukrainian land and they've actually passed something into Russian law. 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This week, US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and seven other European leaders arrived at the White House to discuss a possible peace deal for Ukraine, following a meeting between Mr Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday. Outside official peace talks, however, the spotlight shifted to the first ladies of the United States and Ukraine, with each penning a letter pleading for empathy and an end to the conflict. Here's what we know about the letters and how first ladies in the past have used soft power to speak out. While meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, Donald Trump handed him a letter from the first lady. Melania Trump's "peace letter" highlighted the impact of war on children. The letter did not specifically name Ukraine, which Putin's forces invaded in 2022. But it did implore him to think of children and "an innocence which stands above geography, government, and ideology". 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Mr Zelenskyy praised Melania "for her attention to one of the most painful and difficult issues of this war", adding "we deeply appreciate her compassion". He continued: "Her voice matters, and her care gives strength to this cause". The Ukrainian government says around 19,500 children have been deported and/or forcibly removed from their homes to Russia or Russia-occupied territories. Off the back of Melania's letter, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer both raised the issue of stolen children during the summit. "As a mother and grandmother, every single child has to go back to their family," Ms von der Leyen said. "This should be one of our main priorities also in this negotiation, to make sure the children come back to Ukraine, to their families." Throughout history, first ladies have been designated with traditional female roles, from planning the menu at state dinners to discussing family-friendly issues like literacy. But they also have a long tradition of speaking out on humanitarian and political issues, Dr Genauer said. "A first lady taking a role in humanitarian issues is not unprecedented," she said. During her first year in the White House in 1989, Barbara Bush visited babies with AIDS. In 2018, former first lady Laura Bush wrote an opinion piece in The Washington Post that expressed her sadness and disappointment that children were being separated from their parents at the Mexican border. The next day, Michelle Obama backed her up on Twitter. Rosalynn Carter also chimed in, releasing a statement against the "practice and policy" of "removing children from their parents' care". During the Russia-Ukraine war, Ms Zelenska used her new-found platform as first lady to drum up support for Ukrainians fleeing the war. "Most Ukrainians saw Olena Zelenska just as the wife of the comedian who was their president. But now they are comparing her with (former US first lady) Michelle Obama," close friend Ievgen Klopotenko told The Telegraph in 2022. She shared almost daily posts with her 2.7 million Instagram followers, detailing the realities of war and calling for help on the humanitarian front from diplomats and world leaders. France's first lady Brigitte Macron was among the first to respond, helping to secure the safe passage of 20 children out of Ukraine to France in order to safely continue their cancer treatment. However, Dr Genauer says a first lady sending a letter to a president of another country currently at war is unusual. While she believes Melania's objective was to influence Mr Putin to return Ukrainian children or agree to a ceasefire, it's unlikely the letter will have a "significant impact on Putin and his approach to the war in Ukraine". Here's the definition of soft power, according to an Australian Government foreign policy white paper: The ability to influence the behaviour or thinking of others through the power of attraction and ideas rather than coerce. Dr Genauer says Ms Zelenska's letter to Melania represents an attempt to draw on the levers of soft power to increase the chance that the current US administration will support Ukraine in any future peace deal with Russia. "Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, President Zelenskyy has also focused on consolidating Ukraine's soft power by strengthening his countries relationships and shared values with partners around the world. "However, it remains to be seen whether Melania Trump will respond to Olena Zelenska's letter with one of her own." Without ever running for office, first ladies wield a soft power that can make them even more popular than their husbands. In August 1979, Rosalynn Carter's approval rating stood at 59 per cent compared to her husband's 32 per cent rating. A CNN poll taken in May 2018, during Donald Trump's first term as president, found 57 per cent of Americans approved of Melania, compared to her husband's 43 per cent.
