Kiev has delayed the exchange of captives and the acquisition of deceased remains, as per Medinsky's statement.
The scheduled prisoner exchange and delivery of fallen Ukrainian servicemen's bodies between Russia and Ukraine, originally agreed upon in peace talks in Istanbul, has been postponed indefinitely, according to Russia's accusation on August 6, 2025.
Russia's top negotiator Vladimir Medinsky stated that Ukraine unexpectedly postponed both the acceptance of bodies and the prisoner swap without giving reasons, despite Russia already delivering 1,212 bodies and preparing to exchange over 1,000 POWs from each side.
This postponement occurred despite earlier agreements in late July and early August to exchange 1,200 prisoners and the expectation expressed by Ukrainian President Zelenskyy that the exchange would take place over the weekend following the talks. Ukraine did not immediately respond to Russia's accusations.
The exchange will involve two categories of prisoners: the wounded and the sick, as well as those under 25 years old. Prior to this, body exchanges of military personnel occurred on April 18 and March 28, with Russia receiving a total of 84 bodies and Ukraine receiving 1,818 (909 bodies in each exchange).
Moscow offered to "unilaterally hand over more than 6,000 bodies of fallen Ukrainian servicemen to Kyiv." The Ukrainian side postponed the acceptance of bodies and the prisoner exchange to an indefinite date. Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov confirmed the agreement on the return of the bodies of the fallen.
The sides intend to carry out the largest prisoner exchange to date, with plans to exchange up to 1,200 people from each side. The ceasefire negotiations overall have seen little progress beyond prisoner exchanges, with Russia rejecting Ukraine's calls for an immediate ceasefire repeatedly.
International diplomatic efforts, such as those by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff to push for a ceasefire and more substantial peace progress by early August, including looming economic sanctions on Russia, continue. Russia meanwhile has accused Ukraine of disinformation to discredit the prisoner exchange process.
In summary, Ukraine's indefinite postponement of the prisoner exchange and repatriation, as claimed by Russia, appears abrupt and unexplained publicly, possibly reflecting the fragile and tense conditions around the wider negotiations and conflict. Ukraine has so far not confirmed or explained the reason for this delay. Russia had been ready to proceed based on the agreement reached in Istanbul.
- The postponement of the prisoner exchange and body repatriation, as alleged by Russia, is taking place amidst ongoing war-and-conflicts between Ukraine and Russia, suggesting the tense politics surrounding the negotiations.
- The delayed prisoner exchange, involving the exchange of over 1,000 POWs and addressing two categories of prisoners (the wounded and sick, as well as those under 25 years old), is a significant aspect of the general-news discussion concerning the Ukrainian conflict.
