Russia and Ukraine have entered negotiations to exchange prisoners captured during Kyiv’s unprecedented incursion into southwestern Russia’s Kursk region, Ukraine’s human rights commissioner said Wednesday.“There was a proactive conversation [with Russian human rights commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova],” ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets told Ukrainian television in a segment he posted on his Telegram channel, voicing hopes that the talks would progress soon.Lubinets said Kyiv was ready to continue exchange processes based on the Geneva Convention “at any time,” but accused Moscow of “finding new reasons” to avoid them.Ukrainian analysts alleged last month that Russia was deliberately slowing down exchanges in a bid to turn the families of captured Ukrainian soldiers and civilians against their own government.Moskalkova, meanwhile, has accused Kyiv of roadblocking the exchange efforts. Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, which leads negotiations on prisoners of war, confirmed to the Financial Times on Thursday that it was working on a potential exchange.While Kyiv has not confirmed the exact number of Russian prisoners its forces have captured in the Kursk assault, officials and soldiers at the border told FT that the figure is in the “hundreds.”On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had captured more than 100 Russian servicemen that day.Zelensky last week credited his soldiers for “replenishing the exchange fund.”FT also cited an anonymous Ukrainian SBU security service official saying its forces alone had captured 102 soldiers from a motorized rifle regiment and Chechnya’s Akhmat special forces unit during the Kursk incursion.“This is the biggest capture of the enemy that has been carried out at one time,” the SBU official was quoted as saying.A Message from The Moscow Times:Dear readers,We are facing unprecedented challenges.

Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution.

This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia.

The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced.

But to continue our work, we need your help.Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference.

If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2.

It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression.

Thank you for standing with us. Continue Not ready to support today? Remind me later.×Remind me next monthThank you! Your reminder is set. We will send you one reminder email a month from now.

For details on the personal data we collect and how it is used, please see our Privacy Policy.