Ukraine, Russia to exchange 500 prisoners each this weekend: Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Wednesday that Ukraine and Russia have agreed to carry out a prisoner exchange under the "500-for-500" formula this weekend, the Ukrinform news agency reported.

"The Russian side has informed us that this weekend it will be ready to hand over 500 individuals ... Accordingly, we will be ready to exchange the same number of people," Zelensky said after consultations between Kiev and Moscow regarding the swap.

He noted that Ukraine has not yet received the lists of individuals to be exchanged.

Ukraine and Russia have agreed on another major prisoner exchange during the second round of direct talks in Istanbul on Monday.

The delegations held their previous negotiations on May 16, which resulted in a "1,000 for 1,000" prisoner exchange between the parties.