{"id":1442,"date":"2025-05-24T18:07:52","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T18:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=1442"},"modified":"2025-05-24T18:07:52","modified_gmt":"2025-05-24T18:07:52","slug":"russia-ukraine-swap-nearly-800-prisoners-but-stop-short-of-cease-fire-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=1442","title":{"rendered":"Russia, Ukraine Swap Nearly 800 Prisoners but Stop Short of Cease-Fire Talks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at one of the largest prisoner exchanges in the <strong>Russia-Ukraine<\/strong> war, ongoing nuclear talks between the <strong>United States <\/strong>and <strong>Iran<\/strong>, and trapped gold miners in <strong>South Africa<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><em>World Brief will be off on Monday, May 26, for the U.S. holiday of Memorial Day.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at one of the largest prisoner exchanges in the <strong>Russia-Ukraine<\/strong> war, ongoing nuclear talks between the <strong>United States <\/strong>and <strong>Iran<\/strong>, and trapped gold miners in <strong>South Africa<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><em>World Brief will be off on Monday, May 26, for the U.S. holiday of Memorial Day.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-fallback\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/category\/world-brief\/\">Sign up<\/a>  to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.            <\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-shortcode-newsletter=\"world_brief\" class=\"newsletter-unit-signup newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode email-capture--step-1 newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief newsletter-shortcode-world_brief\">\n<div class=\"show-on-email-capture--signed-up hide-from-newsletter-subscriber newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode--container\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit newsletters-page newsletter-row\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-world_brief\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">Sign up to receive World Brief in your inbox every weekday.<\/h2>\n<p>\n                        <button class=\"button\">Sign Up<\/button>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"grid--flex newsletter-world_brief newsletter-signup-container\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"World Brief sign up form\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<div class=\"buttons\">\n<div class=\"hide-from-newsletter-subscriber privacy-policy-container\">\n<div class=\"privacy-policy-acknowledge\">\n<p><small>By submitting your email, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/termsofuse\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n    <label for=\"email-world_brief\">Enter your email<\/label><br \/>\n    <input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" class=\"hide-from-reg hide-from-sub\" id=\"email-world_brief\" aria-required=\"true\" required=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>    <button class=\"button button--signup \" data-newsletter-id=\"world_brief\" data-sourceid=\"In-article unit\">Sign Up<\/button>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Bringing People Home<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Russia and Ukraine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/05\/23\/europe\/ukraine-and-russia-biggest-prisoner-exchange-war-intl\">swapped<\/a> nearly 800 prisoners on Friday in the first part of what is expected to be the war\u2019s largest prisoner exchange deal thus far. Each side released 390 individuals\u2014270 soldiers and 120 civilians\u2014with more due to be freed this weekend.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat matters most is that Ukraine is bringing its people home,\u201d Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ZelenskyyUa\/status\/1925952733246374380\">wrote<\/a> on X on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>The exchange was agreed to during <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/05\/16\/russia-ukraine-peace-talks-istanbul-turkey-putin-zelensky-cease-fire\/\">Russia-Ukraine peace talks<\/a> in Istanbul last week, the first direct negotiations between the warring sides since the early days of the conflict. Although that meeting\u2019s primary purpose was to hammer out a cease-fire deal, the only concrete outcome to emerge was both countries agreeing to each release 1,000 prisoners in the coming days.<\/p>\n<p>The released Ukrainians were transported to a hospital in the northern Chernihiv region, while the Russian prisoners were moved to Belarus for medical and psychological treatment. Moscow is believed to have captured more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2025\/05\/23\/nx-s1-5408714\/ukraine-russia-prisoners-exchange\">8,000 Ukrainian soldiers<\/a> since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. More than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians are also believed by Kyiv to be in Russian captivity, with rights groups accusing Moscow\u2019s authorities of kidnapping Ukrainian civilians in Russian-occupied land and deporting them to Russia, where they are reportedly held without charge or trial.<\/p>\n<p>According to Moscow\u2019s Defense Ministry, the freed Russian civilians were captured inside Russia\u2019s Kursk region during Ukraine\u2019s monthslong counteroffensive. Zelensky, however, said the captured civilians were \u201cRussian saboteurs and collaborators\u201d who were arrested by Ukrainian law enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>Kyiv maintains that it is ready for an immediate 30-day cease-fire. And U.S. President Donald Trump has <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/114556494480941887\">expressed optimism<\/a> that Friday\u2019s swap could signal future progress in peace talks, writing, \u201cThis could lead to something big???\u201d on his Truth Social account.<\/p>\n<p>But Russia has refused to pause its attacks on Ukraine until the latter meets all of its conditions, which the Kremlin has said are the \u201croot causes\u201d of the war. These include Russian demands that Ukraine cede more of its territory, restrict the size of its military, and be barred from joining NATO. Ukrainian officials have called these conditions \u201cnon-starters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Russia currently controls roughly one-fifth of Ukraine\u2019s territory, but it seeks full ownership of five major regions, including Crimea, which it first annexed in 2014. On Friday, Moscow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/europe\/trump-says-major-prisoners-swap-completed-between-russia-ukraine-2025-05-23\/\">claimed<\/a> to have captured the northeastern settlement of Rakivka in Ukraine\u2019s Kharkiv region, and Kyiv accused Russian forces of killing at least one person and wounding eight others when targeting port infrastructure in its Odesa region.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Today\u2019s Most Read<\/strong><\/h3>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>What We\u2019re Following<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Inconclusive nuclear talks. <\/strong>U.S. and Iranian negotiators <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/us-iran-hold-nuclear-talks-amid-clashing-red-lines-2025-05-23\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=052325&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">convened<\/a> in Rome on Friday for the fifth round of nuclear talks. According to Oman, which is acting as a mediator, limited progress has been made, and both sides will meet again, though the next date and location have not yet been decided.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese negotiations are too complex to be resolved in just two or three meetings,\u201d Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/iran-us-nuclear-talks-rome-witkoff-araghchi-799a6604cdb2ddfe59c36acbbe69619f\">said<\/a>. \u201cI am hopeful that in the next one or two rounds\u2014especially given the better understanding of the Islamic Republic\u2019s positions\u2014we can reach solutions that allow the talks to progress.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/05\/20\/iran-nuclear-negotiations-trump-uranium-enrichment-khamenei-talks\/\">Uranium enrichment<\/a> remains the main sticking point in the negotiations, with the United States insisting that a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/05\/22\/iran-nuclear-deal-business-opportunity-invest\/\">nuclear deal<\/a> must prohibit Tehran from enriching any uranium and Iran arguing that it has the right to do so for civilian purposes. Several proposals have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/world\/middle-east\/u-s-iran-meet-in-rome-with-nuclear-talks-under-strain-c47548f8?mod=e2tw\">reportedly<\/a> been floated for how to resolve the issue, but none have yet been agreed to.<\/p>\n<p>There is concern over \u201cwhether the [Trump] administration is ready to do the very hard work to even get a framework for a deal or whether the administration\u2014as it is doing in the Russia-Ukraine situation\u2014is preparing to back off and let others take whatever action they desire,\u201d former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/05\/22\/netanyahu-trump-israel-gaza-europe-humanitarian-crisis\/\">FP\u2019s Situation Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gold mining accident. <\/strong>South African authorities on Friday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/sustainability\/south-africas-mining-union-says-it-received-reports-300-trapped-mine-2025-05-23\/?utm_source=Sailthru&amp;utm_medium=Newsletter&amp;utm_campaign=Daily-Briefing&amp;utm_term=052325&amp;lctg=607f1056abd4f461f466319b\">rescued<\/a> 79 miners trapped in an underground gold mine, but more than 180 individuals remain. The workers became trapped on Thursday, when a shaft at the Kloof gold mine, located west of Johannesburg, was damaged. None of the workers have reportedly been injured or killed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are actively implementing our safety and shaft examination procedures,\u201d the Sibanye-Stillwater mining company said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/International\/hundreds-workers-remain-underground-after-shaft-incident-south\/story?id=122105138\">statement<\/a>. \u201cOnce these are completed, we will begin hoisting employees to surface. All 260 employees have been accounted for, are safe and have been provided with food.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Kloof gold mine is one of Sibanye-Stillwater\u2019s deepest, reaching around 2 miles below the Earth\u2019s surface. Mining accidents are not uncommon in South Africa. In January, at least 78 bodies were pulled from an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/africa\/south-african-police-lower-cage-into-mine-check-if-anyone-left-after-78-died-2025-01-16\/\">unauthorized gold mine<\/a> after local police cut off food and water for months to try to force those who were illegally mining to the surface. The country\u2019s GIWUSA labor union called it the worst state-sanctioned massacre since the end of apartheid in 1994.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Vote on oil. <\/strong>Venezuelans will head to the polls on Sunday to vote in legislative and regional elections\u2014the first since President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/08\/01\/venezuela-election-maduro-gonzalez-opposition-vote-results-protests-diplomacy\/\">claimed victory<\/a> in a disputed presidential contest last July despite credible evidence to the contrary. Opposition leaders are urging people to boycott the vote to signify distrust in the federal system; only <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/International\/wireStory\/venezuelans-head-polls-opposition-calls-boycotts-government-tightens-122111436\">15.9 percent<\/a> of citizens are expected to turn out, according to a nationwide poll held between April 29 and May 4.<\/p>\n<p>Venezuela faces a slew of <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/04\/11\/us-venezuela-democrats-republicans-sanctions-negotiations-democracy-maduro\/\">economic troubles<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/09\/04\/venezuela-president-election-maduro-gonzalez-arrest-warrant-opposition\/\">civil liberty crackdowns<\/a>, and rising <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/08\/02\/venezuela-election-dispute-maduro-opposition-protests\/\">anti-government protests<\/a>. Year-over-year inflation reached 172 percent in April, and the monthly minimum wage for state employees has dropped to $1.36. Many opposition leaders have fled the country to evade imprisonment. But one of the biggest sticking points of this election is the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2023\/12\/07\/venezuela-maduro-guyana-esequibo-interstate-war-oil-referendum-icj\/\">Essequibo region<\/a>, an oil-rich territory that Guyana claims as its own. For the first time, Venezuela will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/longform\/2025\/5\/23\/borders-and-ballots-why-essequibo-is-controversial-in-venezuelas-election\">elect representatives<\/a> for a new Guayana Esequiba state in its growing bid to control the land and its critical resources.<\/p>\n<p>Oil is also top of mind for Suriname, which will hold its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-05-23\/suriname-election-new-president-to-navigate-impending-oil-boom?embedded-checkout=true&amp;sref=gAQr8Hwd\">general election<\/a> on Sunday. The Latin American country is on the verge of an oil boom, with income from the country\u2019s first offshore project set to begin production in 2028. Elected parliamentarians and the chosen president will be expected to decide what to do with the influx of funds. But opposition members are warning that the ruling government is preparing to engage in \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/energy\/voters-suriname-choose-government-helm-predicted-oil-boom-2025-05-23\/\">massive fraud<\/a>\u201d that could affect the election\u2019s results. Fraud allegations have already marred much of the campaign cycle for the ruling party.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>What in the World?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>On Monday, Huawei launched its first laptop computers that run a Chinese operating system. What is that system\u2019s name?<\/p>\n<p>A. Divine Dragon<br \/>B. HarmonyOS<br \/>C. JadeOS<br \/>D. The People\u2019s System<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>Odds and Ends<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Norwegian retiree Johan Helberg woke up early Thursday to the sight of a large cargo ship in his backyard. NCL <em>Salten<\/em>, en route to the Norwegian town of Orkanger, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/05\/22\/world\/europe\/norway-ship-crash-backyard.html\">ran aground<\/a> on Thursday after the officer on watch reportedly fell asleep. \u201cBig ships pass us now and then,\u201d though they mostly keep to the fjord\u2019s deeper waters, Helberg said. \u201cWe don\u2019t usually see ships right outside our living room window. So this is especially strange.\u201d No injuries or oil spills were reported, but locals must still contend with how to fix up their yards.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>And the Answer Is\u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>B. HarmonyOS<\/p>\n<p>The Chinese government has a strong interest in a purely domestic operating system due to fears that foreign models could create security vulnerabilities, FP\u2019s James Palmer <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/05\/20\/china-economy-consumption-trade-tariff-pause-us\/\">writes<\/a> in China Brief.<\/p>\n<p>To take the rest of FP\u2019s weekly international news quiz, <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/05\/23\/foreign-policy-news-quiz-portugal-election-israel-gaza-blockade-offensive-colombia-petro-rebel-peace-talks-eln\/\">click here<\/a>, or <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/alerts\/\">sign up<\/a> to be alerted when a new one is published.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/05\/23\/russia-ukraine-prisoner-exchange-cease-fire-talks-zelensky\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to World Brief, where we\u2019re looking at one of the largest prisoner exchanges in the Russia-Ukraine war, ongoing nuclear talks between the United States and Iran, and trapped gold miners in South Africa. World Brief will be off on Monday, May 26, for the U.S. holiday of Memorial Day. Welcome back to World [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1442","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}