Russia offered to return only 10 children to Ukraine in almost a month and a half – Axios

During negotiations in Istanbul, Russia offered Ukraine the return of 10 abducted children by July 10. This was reported by the American news resource Axios, citing two unnamed Ukrainian officials. This number was later confirmed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The interlocutors noted that this is only a small part of the number of Ukrainian children illegally held in Russia.

UPDATED. President Zelenskyy confirmed that the occupiers offered to return up to 10 children to Ukraine during the negotiations, despite the list of nearly 400 abducted minors handed over by Ukraine. Later, he said that at the meeting, the Russian delegation admitted that Russia had abducted Ukrainian children.

According to sources, during the meeting, the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, denied that Moscow had abducted tens of thousands of Ukrainian children.

On the eve of the meeting in Istanbul, the head of the Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, reported that the Ukrainian delegation had handed over to the Russians a list of illegally deported Ukrainian children who needed to be returned.

Medinsky later confirmed that Moscow had received a list of 339 children from Kyiv, but continued to deny that they had been abducted. The Russian official also made cynical remarks about the matter, saying that the children had been "rescued" and that Ukraine had "put on a show for sympathetic Europeans."

• The new Istanbul talks lasted a little over an hour, during which Ukraine and Russia agreed to hold a new exchange of prisoners and 6,000 bodies of those killed on both sides.
• Medinsky, stated that a temporary ceasefire would be established on some sections of the frontline to collect the bodies of the dead. This provision is in the "memorandum" published by Russian propaganda. Zelenskyy said that in this way Moscow wants to postpone sanctions.
• At the same time, Moscow again refused an unconditional ceasefire despite Kyiv's proposals.
• Russia has also finally handed over to Ukraine the promised "memorandum" – a vision for ending the war. Kyiv provided Moscow with such a document in advance. The parties will review each other's memorandum for a week.