Overview

• In the third round of talks on July 23, negotiators committed to exchanging at least 1,200 prisoners per side, initiating a preliminary transfer of about 250 at the Ukraine–Belarus border
• Ukraine has yet to formally confirm the swap agreement and continues to insist on an unconditional, lasting ceasefire over Russia’s proposal for 24- to 48-hour humanitarian pauses
• Moscow offered to repatriate an additional 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers’ bodies on top of the 7,000 already returned and submitted a list of roughly 20 Russian children in Ukraine or EU countries
• The under-hour session produced no breakthrough on a summit between Presidents Putin and Zelenski, with deep political preconditions on both sides remaining unresolved
• Both delegations agreed to set up three telematic working groups on political, humanitarian and military issues to maintain dialogue despite the broader impasse