Russia and Ukraine exchanged prisoners-of-war (POWs) on Saturday, the Russian defence ministry said, and Russia handed over the bodies of 1,200 dead Ukrainian soldiers to Kyiv.

Ukraine has received 1,200 bodies of its soldiers killed in the war with Russia, Ukrainian officials responsible for exchanging prisoners of war said on Saturday. The prisoner exchange coordination committee said in a statement on the Telegram that the return of the bodies was part of the agreements reached by Ukraine and Russia during their talks in Istanbul earlier this month.

Ukrainian officials say Ukraine has repatriated another 1,200 bodies in line with an agreement reached during peace talks in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian delegations