Meanwhile, a spat between Moscow and Kyiv escalated this weekend over a stalled prisoner exchange deal, struck at talks in Istanbul last Monday, which would release all severely injured and ill prisoners of war, as well as all captured soldiers aged 18-25.
Both sides also agreed to return the bodies of 12,000 fallen soldiers, 6,000 on each side.
But on Saturday, the Kremlin accused Ukrainian negotiators of indefinitely postponing the swap — claims swiftly rejected by Kyiv.
“We urge Kyiv to strictly adhere to the timetable and all agreements reached and to begin the exchange immediately,” said Vladimir Medinsky, aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Russian statements “do not correspond to reality and previous agreements on either the exchange of prisoners or the repatriation of bodies,” Andriy Kovalenko, a Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council official, said on Telegram.
Russia’s prisoner lists “did not meet the agreed approach,” Kovalenko said, adding that no date was agreed on for the repatriation of bodies. Moscow should stop “playing dirty games and return to constructive work,” he said.
On Saturday, Russian aircraft carried out a bombing raid on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, killing four people and injuring at least 60 others, Reuters reported. A regional official described the assault as Russia’s “most powerful attack” on the city since the start of Putin’s all-out invasion in February 2022.
