Russia and Ukraine say a major prisoner swap has begun
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the first phase of the exchange was bringing home 390 Ukrainians, with further releases expected over the weekend.
'It's very important to bring everyone home,' he wrote on Telegram, thanking all who worked to secure their return and pledging to continue diplomatic efforts to make more exchanges possible.
Russia's Ministry of Defence said each side had released 270 military personnel and 120 civilian detainees. The exchange is 'planned to continue in coming days,' it said.
Ukraine's 65th Mechanised Brigade (Andriy Andriyenko/Ukraine's 65th Mechanized Brigade via AP)
In Turkey last week, Ukraine and Russia agreed to the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side in their first direct peace talks since the early weeks of Moscow's 2022 invasion.
That meeting lasted only two hours and brought no breakthrough in efforts to stop the fighting.
The swap was taking place at the border with Belarus in northern Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly.
The released Russians were taken to Belarus for medical treatment, the Russian Defence Ministry said.
The exchange, which also would be the biggest swap of Ukrainian civilians at one time, did not appear to herald any halt in fighting.
Russia launched two ballistic missiles at infrastructure in the southern Ukrainian port of Odesa, killing one worker and injuring eight others – four critically, according to regional governor Oleh Kiper.
It was the first recorded attack on the port since March 11.
Fighting continues along the 620-mile front line, where tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed, and neither country has relented in its deep strikes.
News of the prisoner release emerged when US president Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine had carried out a large exchange.
Russian servicemen (Russian Defence Ministry Press Service via AP)
'A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine,' Mr Trump said on the Truth Social platform. He said it would 'go into effect shortly.'
He added in the post that 'this could lead to something big???' — apparently referring to other diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting.
After the May 16 talks, Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan called the prisoner swap a 'confidence-building measure' and said the parties had agreed in principle to meet again.
But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that there has been no agreement yet on the venue for the next round of talks as diplomatic manoeuvering continued.
European leaders have accused Russian president Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts while he tries to press his larger army's battlefield initiative and capture more Ukrainian land.
The Istanbul meeting revealed both sides clearly remained far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting. One such condition for Ukraine, backed by its Western allies, is a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement.
The Kremlin has pushed back on a temporary halt to hostilities, and Mr Putin has said any such truce must come with a freeze on Western arms supplies to Ukraine and an end to Ukraine's mobilisation drive.
A senior Ukrainian official said in Istanbul that Russia had introduced new, 'unacceptable demands' to withdraw Ukrainian forces from huge swaths of territory.
The official, who was not authorised to make official statements, spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. The proposal had not been previously discussed, the official said.
Mr Putin has long demanded as a key condition for a peace deal that Ukraine withdraw its troops from the four regions that Russia annexed in September 2022 but never fully controlled.
Mr Zelensky has warned that if Russia continues to reject a ceasefire and make 'unrealistic demands,' it will signal deliberate efforts to prolong the war — a move that should bring tougher international sanctions.
Russia's Defence Ministry said it had shot down 788 Ukrainian drones away from the battlefield between May 20-23.
Ukraine's air force said Russia fired 175 Shahed and decoy drones, as well as a ballistic missile since late Thursday.
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Western Telegraph
31 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Grandfather of incoming MI6 chief was leading Nazi spy, reports say
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an hour ago
PACE debates need for sanctions against Georgian Dream
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Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Defeated Iran massacres 10 anti-regime prisoners and blames Israeli airstrike as Ayatollah exacts revenge on OWN people
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) IRAN'S ruthless regime massacred defenceless inmates at a prison before blaming their deaths on shrapnel from airstrikes, insiders said. It comes as sources warn the wounded regime is using the smokescreen of conflict to unleash a brutal crackdown and execution spree. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 6 Smoke rises following an Israeli attack in Tehran, Iran Credit: Reuters 6 Calls are being made for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to be ousted Credit: AP 6 Harrowing image shows three prisoners who were previously hanged Credit: AFP Cold-blooded regime dictators have also ordered the arrests of hundreds after allegedly some have links to arch-foe Israel. Iran's intelligence services detained at least 26 people accusing them of collaborating with the enemy - and three prisoners were hanged for allegedly spying for Israel. 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Well-placed sources inside Iran said at least 140 executions were recorded between May 22 and June 21 - making the harrowing toll of 398 for the three months since March 21. Iran's execution regime laid bar by man who's on death row for 25 years by Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital) ONE of Iran's longest-serving prisoners has exposed the disturbing mechanisms the regime uses to put inmates to death. Saeed Masouri, who has spent 25 years behind bars, also revealed how the execution rate has spiralled in a harrowing letter written behind bars. Masouri, who was arrested for his affiliation with the resistance unit People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, has now told of the secret process behind executions. Psychological torture, threats against family and sham trials are all used as tools by the regime to condemn its enemies to death on trumped-up charges. Masouri's emotional letter was smuggled out of the notorious Ghezel Hesar prison in Iran and shared with The Sun from Iran Human Rights Monitor. "It is often said that every criminal act is preceded by criminal preparations, hidden beneath the surface," the 60-year-old wrote in a letter to the UN. "For instance, when an execution is carried out, the inhumane and rights-violating acts that preceded it remain hidden from view. "Formal steps like prosecution, indictment, and trial are mere facades. Every detail, from A to Z, is orchestrated by these security agencies." READ MORE HERE Most capital punishments have been enforced at Qezelhessar, Adel Abad (Shiraz), Birjand, Qom Central, and Dastgerd (Isfahan) prisons. Between June 16 and June 25, six people were executed after being accused of espionage, figures shared with The Sun from the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) show. On Wednesday, Edris Ali, Azad Shojaei, and Rasoul Ahmad Mohammad were hanged in Urmia Prison on claims they were spying for Israel. Earlier executions on similar charges include Mohammadamin Mahdavi Shayesteh in Qezelhessar on June 23, Majid Masibi in Dastgerd on June 22, and Esmail Fekri in Qezelhessar on June 16. The people of Iran, in their century-long struggle, at tremendous and bloody cost, have repeatedly rejected the dictatorships of both Shah and Sheikh through successive uprisings. Maryam Rajavi Sweeping arrests are also plaguing Iran's population - with around 700 people understood to have been detained with reported links to a "spy network". Meanwhile this week Khamenei's cranks hastily transferred shackled and handcuffed inmates from three wards of the notorious Evin Prison using 20 buses. Male prisoners were sent to Greater Tehran Penitentiary on Monday night, while female convicts were dispatched to Qarchak Prison. Sources said during the rushed transfer, sickly inmates were deprived of the chance to collect important medications. Prisoners sent to Hall 3, Section 2 of Greater Tehran Penitentiary have also been crammed 40 people a cell in rooms barely fit for half the amount, insiders said. 6 Dizel-Abad Prison in Kermanshah, Iran Credit: 6 Destroyed storage building and tunnel entrances at Kermanshah missile facilities, western Iran Credit: AFP They added: "Sanitary conditions are extremely poor, with only one bathroom available for the entire hall." Female prisoners meanwhile have been denied any contact with their families - with their loved ones increasingly worried about their fate. It has led to renewed calls from veteran campaigners for a global condemnation of Iran's human rights violations. Hossein Abedini, of resistance group NCRI, warned Iran's regime accelerates its repression as an act of intimidation. Abedini, the deputy director of the NCRI's UK office, told The Sun: "It is crucial to remember that the ongoing struggle in Iran for the past four decades has been between the Iranian people and their resistance against the oppressive religious dictatorship. 6 "As Khamenei stated on March 31, he perceives the real threat to his regime not from military attacks, but from the uprising of the Iranian people and the resistance units of the Iranian resistance. "The desperate clerical regime resorts to escalating repression and intensifying its terrorist and nuclear activities to escape the crisis of its overthrow. "Therefore, it is evident that in these circumstances, the regime will again see its only option as intensifying repression and will attempt to settle scores with political prisoners under the pretext of the war with Israel." REGIME CHANGE PLEAS It comes amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran brokered by the US. Calls are now ringing louder for the Ayatollah's regime to be taken down - and for a new democractic republic to take shape. Trump hinted at regime change in a post of Truth Social as he demanded "Make Iran Great Again" - but the White House said it was not one of the authority's official goals. Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the NCRI, insisted the "will of the Iranian people" is the fundamental change. She said: "The proposal for a ceasefire and ending the war is a step forward for the third option: neither war nor appeasement. "Let the people of Iran themselves, in the battle of destiny, bring down Khamenei and the dictatorship of velayat-e faqih. "The people of Iran, in their century-long struggle, at tremendous and bloody cost, have repeatedly rejected the dictatorships of both Shah and Sheikh through successive uprisings. "I repeat that we seek a democratic, non-nuclear republic, with the separation of religion and state, gender equality, and also autonomy for Iran's nationalities. "This will bring peace, democracy, human rights, stability, reconstruction, friendship, cooperation, and economic development to the region and the world."
