Russia and Ukraine agree prisoner swap but peace talks fail to make progress

<p>Apart from agreeing to swap 1,000 prisoners each, Moscow sticks to maximalist demands in Istanbul</p><p>Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a large-scale prisoner exchange but failed to reach a breakthrough during their first direct peace talks since 2022, held in Istanbul without either Vladimir Putin or Volodymyr Zelenskyy.</p><p>Sitting down under pressure from the US president, Donald Trump, Ukraine had pushed for a 30-day ceasefire before the talks. Moscow rejected this, appearing to stick to its maximalist demands, including sweeping restrictions on Ukrainian sovereignty.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/16/russia-ukraine-meet-first-direct-talks-since-2022-instanbul">Continue reading...</a>