Vladimir Medinsky speaks to the press after the second round of peace talks in Istanbul, Türkiye, 2 June 2025. EPA-EFE/TOLGA BOZOGLU
Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said his delegation had handed a list of “several hundred” Ukrainian children who have been deported to Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion to the Russian delegation at the second round of Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul on Monday, Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform has reported.
“This is a fundamental priority for us. If Russia is truly committed to the peace process, the return of even half the children from that list would be a positive signal,” Umerov said.
Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation, confirmed that Russia had received the list of 339 children, but denied that Russia had abducted those children, state-affiliated Russian newspaper RBC reported.
“There are children whose lives were saved by our soldiers, who were pulled out of the war zone … We are looking for their parents. If their parents appear, we bring them back,” Medinsky claimed, adding that there were just “dozens” of such children, and “not 1.5 million or 20,000”.
Moscow and Kyiv also agreed to exchange all severely wounded and critically ill prisoners of war, as well as young soldiers aged 18 to 25, Umerov said, noting that the sides had also agreed to exchange the bodies of 6,000 fallen soldiers each.
Medinsky, in turn, estimated that “from 1,000 to 1,200” people each could be part of the new exchange, calling it “the biggest” since the start of the full-scale invasion. However, he claimed that Russia would hand over the 6,000 fallen Ukrainian soldiers to Kyiv “unilaterally”, according to state news agency TASS.
Ukraine continues to insist on a full and unconditional ceasefire “in the air, at sea, and on land” for at least 30 days, seeing it as the basis for a peaceful resolution to the conflict, Umerov added.
Russia appears to have rejected the 30-day ceasefire, with Medinsky offering “a two-to-three day ceasefire in certain areas of the front” in order for the sides to collect the bodies of dead soldiers, TASS reported.
The Ukrainian delegation also proposed holding a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin in late June, Umerov said. “We are calling for a real effort to stop this war. The first essential steps are clear to everyone: a ceasefire, humanitarian actions, and preparation for a leaders’ summit,” Umerov said, calling for international sanctions if Russia does not take steps in that direction.
Medinsky did not acknowledge the proposed meeting between Zelensky and Putin, despite Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan offering Türkiye as the venue for a potential Russia-Ukraine summit in comments reported by TASS.
