On May 16, 2025, in Istanbul, at the Dolmabahce Palace, negotiations between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine concluded, during which the parties reached an agreement on the largest prisoner exchange since the beginning of the special military operation (SMO) in February 2022. As Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov stated at a briefing, the parties agreed on an exchange according to the formula "1000 for 1000". The head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Medinsky confirmed this information, specifying that the exchange will take place in the coming days, although the exact date has not yet been disclosed.

The talks, the first direct contacts between Moscow and Kyiv since March 2022, began on the afternoon of May 16 under the chairmanship of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. The main topics of discussion were a ceasefire, prisoner exchange, and the possibility of a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky. Although no ceasefire agreement was reached, the prisoner exchange agreement was a significant step, which Fidan called a “confidence-building measure.”

According to Umerov, the exchange will include military personnel, sergeants and officers, and possibly civilians, although the exact lists have not yet been made public. Medinsky noted that Russia and Ukraine will exchange written proposals on the terms of a ceasefire, which will form the basis for future meetings. If the exchange takes place, it will surpass previous ones in scale, including the largest exchange to date on April 19, 2025, when both sides released 350 prisoners, as reported by the Associated Press.

The history of prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine includes several significant episodes. According to the BBC, on September 14, 2024, the parties exchanged 206 prisoners, including Russians captured in the Kursk region. On February 5, 2025, with the mediation of the UAE, 150 people were released from each side. These exchanges, although large-scale, are smaller in number than those planned for Istanbul.