Russia and Ukraine exchanged more captured soldiers on Friday, the latest in a series of prisoner swaps agreed at peace talks in Istanbul earlier this month. Two rounds of peace talks in Istanbul have failed to result in a pause to the fighting.

Russia and Ukraine carried out another prisoner swap on Friday, said the Russian defence ministry. In accordance with the Russian-Ukrainian agreements on June 2 in Istanbul, a group of Russian military personnel was returned from the territory controlled by Ukraine on June 20,

The Ukrainian POWs exchanged on Thursday were sick or injured, according to Kyiv's coordinating council for POWs. The Russian POWs would also be sent for treatment and rehabilitation, Moscow's defence ministry said.

Ukraine has brought home another group of soldiers released from Russian captivity, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on June 19.

Since then, Russia and Ukraine have swapped dozens of prisoners of war, focusing on under-25s and the severely wounded and sick. There are hopes they could build into some of the biggest exchanges in the war that was triggered by Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Both sides said it would be the biggest exchange once completed. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Russia and Ukraine said they exchanged an unspecified number of sick and wounded prisoners of war on Tuesday under an agreement reached at peace talks last week in Turkey. The handover took place after an initial swap of prisoners under the age of 25 was conducted on Monday.

Ukraine and Russia carried out a new prisoner exchange on Thursday, June 19. Most of the defenders who were returned had been held captive since 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says. "Our people are returning home from Russian captivity.