Afghanistan, May 24 -- The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that hundreds of military and civilian prisoners were exchanged between Russia and Ukraine under an agreement reached in Istanbul.
According to the Russian defense officials, 270 Russian soldiers and 120 civilians who were previously detained in Ukraine were returned to Russia. In exchange, 270 Ukrainian soldiers and 120 civilians were handed over to Ukrainian authorities in Kyiv.
Russian officials emphasized that the prisoner swap was initiated by the Russian Federation and that the process will continue regularly in the coming days.
During a two-hour negotiation in Istanbul last week, Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners each but did not reach an agreemen...