Russia and Ukraine have conducted another round of prisoner exchanges as part of their ongoing negotiations, coinciding with the third round of direct talks held in Istanbul, Turkey.

According to a statement by the Russian Defence Ministry on Wednesday, the prisoner swap was carried out based on the agreements reached during earlier discussions on June 2. The exchanged Russian servicemen have arrived in Belarus and will be transferred to military hospitals in Russia for medical treatment and rehabilitation.

The Istanbul talks follow two previous meetings on May 16 and June 2, where both sides agreed to an “all-for-all” exchange. The arrangement includes seriously ill or wounded prisoners, soldiers under 25 years old, and the return of bodies of deceased soldiers.

Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters reported that over 1,000 Ukrainian servicemen have returned home under this agreement. Russia’s lead negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said the sides also agreed on further exchanges, including the release of at least 1,200 more prisoners on each side and the return of 3,000 Ukrainian bodies.

Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov acknowledged progress on humanitarian matters but noted that talks made no progress on halting hostilities. Ukraine is calling for a long-term ceasefire, while Russia has proposed short 24–48-hour truces to recover bodies.

The negotiations come shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump warned of harsher sanctions against Russia unless a peace agreement is reached within 50 days. Despite this pressure, no major breakthrough toward a ceasefire or peace settlement was reported.

Both parties, however, expressed openness to continuing humanitarian negotiations, raising hopes for more prisoner swaps in the near future.