By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – Russia on Sunday accused Ukraine of indefinitely delaying a planned exchange of prisoners and the handover of fallen soldiers’ bodies.
Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky said in a telegram post that Russia has handed over the first list of 640 prisoners to Ukraine and begun transferring bodies of dead Ukrainian soldiers, but Ukrainian negotiators did not arrive at the exchange site.
He called on Ukraine to “strictly adhere to the schedule and all agreements reached, and to immediately begin the exchange.”
Kiev did not immediately respond to the accusation, Xinhua news agency reported.
Russia and Ukraine had agreed to another major prisoner exchange in their latest round of direct talks in Istanbul, head of the Russian Delegation Vladimir Medinsky said.
Medinsky said that the deal will include an “all-for-all” exchange of seriously ill and wounded prisoners, as well as soldiers under the age of 25. He noted that no fewer than 1,000 prisoners are expected to participate in the exchange from each side, calling the agreement a “humanitarian gesture.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a prisoner exchange under a “500-for-500” formula would take place this weekend.
He said Moscow would return Ukraine 6,000 bodies of fallen soldiers next week.
“We specifically proposed a ceasefire for 2 to 3 days along certain sections of the front line,” he told at a briefing after the talks.
He added that Russian military specialists would work with those from Ukraine, so commanders can retrieve the bodies of fallen soldiers.
Both sides solved several “practical problems,” according to Medinsky.
He said that Moscow and Kiev agreed to set up permanent medical commissions that would regularly compile lists of seriously wounded soldiers and facilitate their exchange.
Medinsky confirmed that Russia passed its two-part memorandum to the Ukrainian side, which outlines the steps towards lasting peace and a ceasefire.
He said Ukraine handed Moscow a list of 339 children, who have been separated from their parents due to the ongoing conflict, noting that Moscow would carefully look into each one of these cases.
He said that Russia had recently returned 101 children and 22 children have returned from the Ukrainian side.
Russian and Ukrainian delegations held their second round of direct talks in Istanbul on Monday, after their initial meeting earlier in May.
They agreed on a major prisoner swap, and to exchange draft memorandums outlining potential terms for a future peace treaty during talks.
