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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said Tuesday that about 2,300 Russian servicemen and roughly 170 civilians were returned from Ukraine this year under prisoner exchange agreements reached in Istanbul.
Speaking in an interview with the Russian daily Izvestia, Galuzin said Moscow, in turn, returned about 2,400 Ukrainian servicemen and around 170 civilians to Kyiv.
“As a result of the agreements reached in Istanbul, approximately 2,300 of our soldiers and about 170 civilians were able to return to their homeland in Russia,” Galuzin said. “As for the Ukrainian side, about 2,400 military personnel and about 170 civilians were returned to them.”
Galuzin also addressed the exchange of fallen soldiers’ remains, saying Russia had handed over about 12,000 bodies of Ukrainian troops.
“We have given the Ukrainian side about 12,000 bodies of their deceased soldiers. Around 200 bodies have been returned to us,” he said, adding that the process would continue.
“You are right, and there is a very serious, positive effect from the discussions that took place in Istanbul,” Galuzin said when asked about the impact of the talks.
Galuzin claimed Ukraine continues to forcibly detain 12 Russian civilians allegedly abducted from Russia’s Kursk region during Ukraine’s 2024 incursion.
He said Kyiv had suspended the Istanbul talks without responding to several Russian proposals, including security guarantees and the creation of three working groups focused on military, political and humanitarian issues.
“All of this remained unanswered,” he said.
Galuzin noted that Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya had announced through the media that the Istanbul process was being halted until at least the end of the year.
“It was categorically said through the media that the Ukrainian side was interrupting the Istanbul process,” Galuzin said, adding that Russia had not received any official notification.
Asked about prospects for ending the war, Galuzin said he would not set a timeline but argued that Ukraine must make what he called a “responsible political decision” regarding Donbas.
He said such a move should align with understandings reached during Russian-American contacts, including at the Anchorage summit in Alaska.
Russia has no intention of delaying a settlement, he said, adding that once Ukraine makes such a decision, a ceasefire and broader agreement would follow.
Galuzin echoed Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s assessment that Kyiv and Europe are the main obstacles to peace.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that he is holding talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on the possible deployment of American troops in Ukraine as part of security guarantees.
Speaking to journalists, Zelenskyy said any decision on deploying U.S. forces would rest solely with Washington and that such troops would remain under U.S. command.
“These are the troops of the United States, and that is why it is America that makes such decisions,” Zelenskyy was quoted by the Ukrinform news agency as saying.
He said Ukraine would welcome U.S. troops as a strong security guarantee and confirmed discussions were ongoing with Trump and a broader coalition of partners.
Zelenskyy added that security advisers from the so-called Coalition of the Willing are expected to meet in Ukraine on Jan. 3, followed by leaders-level talks planned for Jan. 6 in France.
He said Kyiv remains in close contact with Washington and thanked Trump’s team for continued engagement following his recent meeting with the U.S. president in Florida, while reiterating Ukraine’s need for sustained U.S. missile and air defense support.
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