The Kremlin is insisting on the 2022 Istanbul format for negotiations as a way to buy time and blame Kyiv for the stalling of current peace talks, while planning to repeat an invasion under more favorable conditions in the future,

Kyiv confirms receiving bodies of 1,000 Ukrainian servicemen, Russian presidential aide says Moscow received bodies of 19 servicemen - Anadolu Ajansı

EADaily, August 19th, 2025. Russia and Ukraine is likely to continue direct negotiations in Istanbul, at which the status of representatives of the parties may be increased.

The return of the forcefully deported Ukrainian children “is a subject at the top of all lists,” Donald Trump said, adding that the US and Europe will work together with Ukraine and the rest of the world “to hopefully bringing them home to their families".

Russian President Vladimir Putin is prepared to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy but all issues must be worked through first and there's a question about Zelenskiy's authority to sign a peace deal,

Russia on Tuesday returned the bodies of what it said were 1 000 Ukrainian soldiers, five of whom died while in captivity, a Ukrainian government agency said.

Ukraine returned the bodies of 19 Russian soldiers in exchange, a Russian official said. Tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed on both sides since Russia invaded its neighbour in February 2022, though neither side regularly publishes data on their own casualties.