Image Credit: Anadolu / Contributor / Getty 
On Wednesday officials from Ukraine and Russia met in Turkey for the third time to discuss their ongoing war. While Kiev and Moscow agreed to a prisoner exchange, no progress toward a ceasefire was made.
“Everything should be done to achieve a ceasefire,” Zelensky said Tuesday evening before the talks. “The Russian side should stop hiding from decisions.”
Moscow did not go into Wednesday’s meeting expecting progress toward a ceasefire.
“There is no reason to expect any breakthroughs in the category of miracles — it is hardly possible in the current situation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “We intend to pursue our interests, we intend to ensure our interests and fulfill the tasks that we set for ourselves from the very beginning.”
Ukraine’s Dictator discussed the prisoner swap in a social media post:
Today, already the 9th stage of the exchange agreed in Istanbul took place. Seriously ill and severely wounded defenders are returning home. We can now share the details — across all stages of the recent Istanbul agreements, we have managed to bring back more than 1,000 of our people. For a thousand families, this means the joy of embracing their loved ones again. I am grateful to everyone who contributed to this effort. The warriors returning today defended Ukraine in various frontline directions. Many of them had been in captivity for over three years. Each will receive the necessary support and medical assistance. It is important that the exchanges are ongoing and our people are coming home. I thank everyone who keeps working on this vital task. Bringing all our people back is a priority for the state. And we will continue doing everything possible to ensure that every one of our people returns from captivity.
Today, already the 9th stage of the exchange agreed in Istanbul took place. Seriously ill and severely wounded defenders are returning home. We can now share the details — across all stages of the recent Istanbul agreements, we have managed to bring back more than 1,000 of our… pic.twitter.com/WDGDlNAyy4
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 23, 2025
Russian news covered the specifics of the humanitarian actions decided upon in the talks:
Russia and Ukraine have fulfilled all the humanitarian agreements reached during the second round of talks in Istanbul last month, Moscow’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky announced on Wednesday.
Medinsky made the remarks to the press following the conclusion of the third round of direct peace negotiations with Ukraine in Türkiye.
Russia has offered to hand over 3,000 more bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, Medinsky stated.
The remains will be returned via the Red Cross once Kiev confirms it is ready to receive them, he added.
Medinsky also said Moscow had proposed a new prisoner swap involving at least 1,200 POWs from each side.
The Russians believe Ukraine will continue to lose on the battlefield.
“The conclusion is the level of military and materiel support from U.S. to Ukraine will not reach the level as it was during the Biden administration,” Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global Affairs magazine and an occasional adviser to the Kremlin, told NPR. “And if so, it cannot seriously change the equation on the battlefield.”
Interestingly, it has been reported that Ukraine proposed that their Dictator Vladimir Zelensky, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and President Donald Trump meet in-person this summer.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said he hoped Ukraine and Russia will make progress to “end this bloody war as soon as possible”.
“The ultimate goal here is, of course, a ceasefire that will pave the way for peace,” the Turk added.
The Kremlin has been seeking to hold this third round of talks. The second meeting being largely a failure and the first meeting only consisting of diplomats who discussed setting up the second meeting.
President Donald Trump announced on July 14 that he has given Russia 50 days to make peace with Ukraine or face “very severe tariffs.”
