Russia is still refusing to sign up to an unconditional comprehensive ceasefire. It has no intention of returning any of the Ukrainian land it has seized, occupied and claims to have annexed. On the contrary: it's pushing for more.

Russia will be ready to hand Ukraine a draft document outlining conditions for a long-term peace accord once a prisoner exchange now under way is completed, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.

Russia and Ukraine conducted the largest prisoner of war exchange of the war to date on Wednesday, with around 1,000 soldiers from each side swapped.

Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Vladimir Putin of making a “mockery of the entire world” in its delay to respond to calls for a ceasefire after the first stage of a large-scale prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia.

The announcement was made ahead of an expected prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia on Friday – an outcome of last week’s face-to-face talks in Turkey, the first time the two countries have held direct talks at any level in three years.

Kyiv's European allies slapped new sanctions Tuesday on Moscow, a day after a phone call between U.S. President Donald

President Trump has shifted his stance on the Russia-Ukraine war, suggesting that the two nations must independently negotiate peace. Despite earlier promises to broker a quick resolution and threats of sanctions,