Russia, Ukraine 'to swap POWs' after bodies exchanged

Ukraine and Russia have carried out an exchange of soldiers' bodies, officials in Kyiv say, amid reports of an upcoming prisoner swap.

The Ukrainian authority responsible for prisoners of war said 909 corpses have been received from Russia.

The soldiers were reportedly killed in Ukraine's eastern regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy and Kharkiv.

Some also were received from morgues in Russia, with Ukrainian forces having recently been pushed back from the border region of Kursk.

In exchange, Russian media reports suggest that Russian authorities received 41 bodies.

The handover, announced on Good Friday, took place with mediation from the International Red Cross, the Ukrainian authority said.

Ukrainian forces have had to leave soldiers' corpses behind on the battlefield as they retreat from parts of the front line.

Ukraine has been fending off a full-scale Russian invasion for more than three years.

Russia and Ukraine were set to conduct a prisoner swap on Saturday mediated by the United Arab Emirates, a source close to the negotiations told Reuters.

Nearly 500 Russian and Ukrainian prisoners and 46 injured soldiers will be exchanged in the latest swap to be mediated by officials in Abu Dhabi.

The exchange will involve 246 prisoners from each side, the source said.

Ukraine and Russia have frequently exchanged prisoners since Russia's invasion in February 2022, with the UAE conducting 13 mediations.

The Russian defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

The total number of captives exchanged through UAE mediation totals 3233.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday "we will take a pass" on trying to resolve the Ukraine war if either Russia or Ukraine makes it too difficult to end the conflict.

Trump told reporters however that he did not want to say he was walking away from the talks.

He said he still believed there is a good chance to end the conflict.

"It's coming to a head right now," he said.

US Vice President JD Vance on Friday said he felt "optimistic" regarding the ongoing negotiations with Russia to bring the Ukraine war to an end, as he met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome.

"Since there are the negotiations, I won't prejudge them, but we do feel optimistic that we can hopefully bring this war, this very brutal war, to a close," Vance said.

with DPA