A significant prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine is currently in progress, according to a high-ranking Ukrainian official on Friday.

Despite a former President’s announcement on Friday that Russia and Ukraine had finalized a “major prisoners swap,” the Ukrainian official informed the Associated Press that the exchange was still ongoing.

These announcements follow direct discussions in Turkey last week, marking the first such talks since the early stages of the conflict, where an agreement was reached to release approximately 1,000 prisoners of war.

“A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine. It will go into effect shortly,” the former President posted on Truth Social, adding, “Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big???”

On Thursday, a Ukrainian Presidential advisor stated on X, “I held a meeting on the preparation for an exchange” and “The agreement to release 1,000 of our people from Russian captivity was perhaps the only tangible result of the meeting in Turkey.”

The former President also had a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, describing it afterwards as having “went very well.”

“Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War. The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of,” the former President said. “The tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent. If it wasn’t, I would say so now, rather than later.”

Putin also acknowledged in a statement following the call that “a ceasefire with Ukraine is possible” but emphasized that “Russia and Ukraine must find compromises that suit both sides.”

However, the Kremlin stated on Thursday that no direct peace talks were currently scheduled between the two nations.

“There is no concrete agreement about the next meetings,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Associated Press. “They are yet to be agreed upon.”

Digital’s Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

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