President Donald Trump announced on Friday morning that Ukraine and Russia were completing a “major” prisoner exchange as the United States continues to seek peace between the two nations.
The deal, which was agreed to last week, swaps 1,000 prisoners each between Ukraine and Russia, making it the largest prisoner exchange of the war, The New York Times reported. Trump congratulated the countries on the agreement and hinted that it “could lead to something big.”
“A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine. It will go into effect shortly,” Trump wrote on Truth Social early Friday morning. “Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big???”
Earlier this week, Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin ceasefire negotiations with Ukraine, adding that the talks could be held at the Vatican. Trump made the announcement after a two-hour phone call with the Russian despot.
“Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War,” Trump said on Monday. “The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of.”
While Trump administration officials have met with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the two leaders have yet to negotiate with each other. Last week, Zelensky met with Russian officials in Turkey as Putin skipped the meeting. Trump said last Friday that he understood why Putin didn’t attend the meeting, adding that he planned to meet with the Russian president “as soon as possible.”
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During the talks in Turkey, Ukraine and Russia agreed to the prisoner swap, but Russian officials reportedly said they would not agree to a ceasefire unless Ukraine withdraws from four regions in eastern Ukraine that Russian forces took over in 2022.
“The agreement to release 1,000 of our people from Russian captivity became perhaps the only tangible result of the meeting in Turkey,” Zelensky said following the meeting. “We are working to ensure this result is delivered.”
Ending the war in Ukraine has been a top foreign policy goal for President Trump, who promised on the campaign trail that the conflict would end by his first day back in the White House. Peace talks between the countries, however, have hit multiple roadblocks, and the Trump administration has suggested that it is willing to walk away from further negotiations if Ukraine and Russia don’t make progress soon.
Trump, however, remains optimistic that he can work out a deal between Putin and Zelensky to end the bloodshed, saying last week that “in two or three weeks we could have it be a much, much safer place.”
