Part 8/15:
A significant outcome was a prisoner exchange deal—6,000 prisoners on each side, including seriously wounded and young Ukrainian fighters—considered the only tangible progress. Yet, tensions surfaced when Ukrainian officials confronted Russian negotiators over reports of Ukrainian children reportedly taken to Russia. Russia denied such transfers, dismissing the evidence as propaganda—even though many of these children reportedly have already been adopted by Russian families.
President Zelensky took to social media, emphasizing that peace requires that "the aggressor must not receive any reward for war," a pointed message that signals Kyiv's reluctance to accept any concessions that could embolden Russian expansion.