Russia and Ukraine were scheduled to take part in the major prisoner swap on Friday, which is described as the largest since the start of a full-scale Russian invasion in 2022.
Officials from both countries agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each during fruitless peace negotiations in Istanbul a week ago.
US President Donald Trump previously posted a congratulations on his true social platform, claiming that the swap has been completed and “this could lead to something big.”
However, there was no confirmation from either side, and Ukrainian military sources only informed the press that the process was underway.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that exchanges could take place over three days across the Ukrainian border with Belarus.
The exchange was agreed in Türkiye a week ago. This was when low-level delegations from Ukraine and Russia first met in face to face since March 2022.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that when Moscow handed the “memorandum” to Ukrainian side there would be second round talks.
Trump said this week that Russia and Ukraine will begin negotiations “quickly” for a ceasefire and end of the war after a two-hour call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Since then, Putin’s Ukrainian counterpart, Voldy Mil Zelensky, has accused him of “trying to buy time” to continue the war.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni supported Trump’s proposal that the Vatican might mediate talks on negotiations for a ceasefire, but said it was “not a very realistic option.”
The Russian Foreign Minister reiterated his unfounded claim that Zelensky is not a legitimate leader, suggesting that new elections should be held before signing potential peace deals in the future.
Asked if Russia is ready to sign the contract, Lavrov said: “We need to make a deal first, and when it’s agreed, we decide. But, as President Putin has said many times, President Zelensky has no legitimacy.”
He said that once the agreement was ready, Russia would “see who has legitimacy from the powerful Ukrainians.”
“The key challenge at the moment is to prepare a reliable peace agreement and provide long-term, stable and fair peace without creating security threats for anyone. In our case, we are interested in Russia.”
