President Zelensky Suggests 90 To 120 Minutes In Istanbul Not Worth The Time To Meet With Russian Delegation For 1,000 Or 1,200 Or 6,000, And Possibly Children. His Military Officers Disagree.
President Zelensky Suggests 90 To 120 Minutes In Istanbul Not Worth The Time To Meet With Russian Delegation For 1,000 Or 1,200 Or 6,000. His Military Officers Disagree
Family Members Of 1,000 POWs Returned To Their Loved Ones Might Differ- That Agreement Was Reached In A Two-Hour Meeting On 16 May 2025 In Istanbul
2 June 2025 Agreement For 1,200 Or More POWs To Be Returned To Their Families, Bodies Returned To Their Families For Burial, Children Returned To Their Families, Also Might Differ From President Zelensky And Support Whatever Meetings Are Required
Accepting the annoying, frustrating, infuriating, insufferable, or performative, the government of Ukraine has an obligation to its citizens to avail itself to every opportunity to engage directly and engage indirectly with the government of the Russian Federation towards the goals of retrieving the abducted, the dead, the living, the wounded, and the orphaned, regardless of the required gestures and time commitments required.
If the desired result requires delegations to meet in Istanbul, Turkiye, every two weeks, then that is precisely what the government of Ukraine should not only be prepared to do, but propose or accept immediately any opportunity.
And if the only outcomes for the foreseeable timeline are for an exchange of prisoners of war, a return to the dead, and a return of children, then should those be thrown aside because the primary goals- cease fire, peace negotiations, and peace agreement are on a different political and military trajectory?
President Zelensky through his comments is intensifying his separation from the ethos of those in the armed forces of Ukraine. From the ethos of armed forces in any country- never leave anyone behind, “not to lose anyone, not to forget anyone.”
President Zelensky is again thinking with his ego rather than thinking as a husband who lost a wife, a father who lost a child, a man who lost everything.
“We agreed on the all-for-all exchange of seriously wounded and seriously ill prisoners of war. The second category is young soldiers aged 18 to 25, also all-for-all. We also agreed on the repatriation of 6,000 bodies for 6,000 perished soldiers [and officers].” Rustem Umerov, Minister of Defense of Ukraine
On 2 June 2025, the government of the Russian Federation confirmed intention to exchange approximately 1,200 prisoners of war it holds with approximately 1,200 prisoners of war held by the government of Ukraine. The government of Ukraine shared the prisoners of war exchange may include imprisoned journalists and political prisoners held in the Russian Federation. The government of the Russian Federation has proposed “a specific ceasefire for two to three days in certain areas of the front line” to collect bodies of dead soldiers from battlefields.
“The Russian side has informed us that this weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, it can return 500 people. We are ready for exchanges, but to continue diplomatic meetings in Istanbul at a level that does not solve anything further, I think, is pointless. As they said regarding a ceasefire, they are ready for a two-to-three-day ceasefire to retrieve the dead from the battlefield. I think they’re idiots, because, fundamentally, a ceasefire is meant so that there are no dead. You can see their attitude. For them, this is just a brief pause in the war…. We had instances when they returned bodies that later were identified as their own.” Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine (2019-2024; term extended due to imposition of martial law in 2022)
President Zelensky shared approximately 15% of the mentioned 6,000 are identified and the government of Ukraine would need to verify that the bodies to be returned are those of Ukrainians rather than from the Russian Federation.
[N]ew progress has been achieved today. This is the so-called ‘all for all’ formula. Today we agreed on two categories that will be subject to return to their Homeland. We agreed on the mechanisms. We have determined the tentative terms of this exchange, and we have hard work ahead of us, because it will be necessary to do a lot of verification- not to lose anyone, not to forget anyone.” Vadym Skibitsky, Deputy Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine
The government of the Russian Federation had engaged in a “political performance” and “artificial diplomacy” and “The second Istanbul meeting was no different from the first. The same ultimatums they voiced last time are now presented in writing. Essentially, they are delaying sanctions. With each new postponement of diplomacy, Russia shows its middle finger to the whole world, and to everyone who does not want to increase pressure on Russia.” Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine (2019-2024; term extended due to imposition of martial law in 2022)
Those officers of the armed forces of Ukraine whose fortitude is tested when seated opposite and within meters of their counterparts from the armed forces of the Russian Federation, maintain like their counterparts across the table, a focus upon those impacted- the soldiers under their command.
For those officers, spending two days traveling to Istanbul, Turkiye, and two days returning to Kyiv, Ukraine, is worth the effort. The delegation representing the government of Ukraine had been increased from twelve members to fourteen members. That was appropriate- the government of Ukraine should always be viewed as having within its delegation representatives from all offices and agencies.
On 16 May 2025 in Istanbul, the government of Ukraine and the government of the Russian Federation agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war. That process has been completed.
On 2 June 2025, the government of Ukraine provided to the government of the Russian Federation the names of 339 children who are believed abducted. The government of the Russian Federation responded reportedly with an offer to repatriate ten (10) children. The outcome remains uncertain.
