Russia and Ukraine Reach Deal on New POW Swap and Handover of Bodies

Members of Ukrainian (R), Russian (L) and Turkish (C) delegations attend the second meeting at the Ciragan Palace, in Istanbul, on June 2, 2025. (AFP)
Members of Ukrainian (R), Russian (L) and Turkish (C) delegations attend the second meeting at the Ciragan Palace, in Istanbul, on June 2, 2025. (AFP)
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Russia and Ukraine Reach Deal on New POW Swap and Handover of Bodies

Members of Ukrainian (R), Russian (L) and Turkish (C) delegations attend the second meeting at the Ciragan Palace, in Istanbul, on June 2, 2025. (AFP)
Members of Ukrainian (R), Russian (L) and Turkish (C) delegations attend the second meeting at the Ciragan Palace, in Istanbul, on June 2, 2025. (AFP)

Russia and Ukraine said they had agreed at peace talks on Monday to exchange more prisoners of war and return the bodies of 12,000 dead soldiers. 

The warring sides met for barely an hour in the Turkish city of Istanbul, for only the second such round of negotiations since March 2022. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described it as a great meeting and said he hoped to bring together Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy for a meeting in Türkiye with US President Donald Trump. 

But there was no breakthrough on a proposed ceasefire that Ukraine, its European allies and Washington have all urged Russia to accept. 

Moscow says it seeks a long-term settlement, not a pause in the war; Kyiv says Putin is not interested in peace. 

Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said Russian negotiators had handed their Ukrainian counterparts a detailed memorandum outlining Moscow's terms for a full ceasefire. 

Medinsky, who heads the Russian team, said Moscow had also suggested a "specific ceasefire of two to three days in certain sections of the front" so that the bodies of dead soldiers could be collected. 

Each side said it would hand over the bodies of 6,000 dead soldiers to the other. 

In addition, they said they would conduct a further big swap of prisoners of war, after 1,000 captives on each side were traded following a first round of talks in Istanbul on May 15. 

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who headed Kyiv's delegation, said the new exchange would focus on those severely injured in the war and on young people. 

Umerov also said that Moscow had handed a draft peace accord to Ukraine and that Kyiv, which has drawn up its own version, would review the Russian document. 

Ukraine has proposed holding more talks before the end of June, but believes that only a meeting between Zelenskiy and Putin can resolve the many issues of contention, Umerov said. 

Zelenskiy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said Kyiv's delegation had requested the return of a list of children who it said had been deported to Russia. 

Moscow says such children were moved in order to protect them from fighting. Medinsky said there were 339 names on Ukraine's list but that the children had been "saved", not stolen. 

LOW EXPECTATIONS FOR ISTANBUL BREAKTHROUGH 

Ukraine had a day earlier launched one of its most ambitious attacks of the war, using drones to target Russian nuclear-capable long-range bomber planes in Siberia and elsewhere. 

Angry war bloggers urged Moscow to retaliate strongly. 

While both countries, for different reasons, are keen to keep Trump engaged in the peace process, expectations of a breakthrough on Monday had been low. 

Ukraine regards Russia's approach to date as an attempt to force it to capitulate - something Kyiv says it will never do - while Moscow, which advanced on the battlefield in May at its fastest rate in six months, says Kyiv should submit to peace on Russian terms or face losing more territory. 

Putin set out his opening terms for an immediate end to the war last June: Ukraine must drop its ambitions to join the Western NATO alliance and withdraw its troops from the entirety of the four Ukrainian regions claimed and largely controlled by Russia. 

According to a proposed roadmap drawn up by Ukraine, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, Kyiv wants no restrictions on its military strength after any peace deal, no international recognition of Russian sovereignty over parts of Ukraine taken by Moscow's forces, and reparations. 

Russia currently controls just under one fifth of Ukraine, or about 113,100 sq km, about the area of the US state of Ohio. 

Putin sent his army into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces. 

The United States, which under Trump's predecessor Joe Biden was Ukraine's main source of advanced weaponry in the war, says over 1.2 million people have been killed and injured in the conflict since 2022. 

Trump has called Putin "crazy" and berated Zelenskiy in public in the Oval Office, but the US president has also said he thinks peace is achievable and that if Putin delays, the US could impose tough sanctions on Russia. 



Iranian Attack Hits Israeli Oil Refinery in Haifa, Some Damage Reported

Excess gas is burned at the oil refinery in Israel's northern city of Haifa late on March 19, 2026. (AFP)
Excess gas is burned at the oil refinery in Israel's northern city of Haifa late on March 19, 2026. (AFP)
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Iranian Attack Hits Israeli Oil Refinery in Haifa, Some Damage Reported

Excess gas is burned at the oil refinery in Israel's northern city of Haifa late on March 19, 2026. (AFP)
Excess gas is burned at the oil refinery in Israel's northern city of Haifa late on March 19, 2026. (AFP)

An Iranian missile attack hit Israel's Oil Refineries in the northern port city of Haifa but did not cause "significant damage", Israel's Energy Ministry said on Thursday.

Energy Minister Eli Cohen said power was briefly disrupted, with electricity restored to most of those who were affected.

"The damage to the power grid in the north is localized and not significant," Cohen said. "Also, in the barrage towards the north, ‌there was ‌no significant damage to Israeli infrastructure sites."

Iran's ‌⁠Revolutionary Guard Corps ⁠said it had targeted refineries in Haifa, Israel's third-largest city, and in Ashdod, in the country's south, "along with a range of security targets and military support centers of the Zionist regime", which it said "were hit by pinpoint missiles".

There was no immediate ⁠word on whether the Ashdod refinery was ‌hit.

Israel's Ministry of Environmental ‌Protection said debris from a missile that was intercepted fell ‌in Haifa and was being examined as a ‌hazardous materials incident.

Israel Electric Corp said a power line in the Haifa area was hit by shrapnel, causing a brief outage, but that electricity was restored to ‌all customers within about 45 minutes.

Israel's Fire and Rescue Services said debris fell in ⁠two locations ⁠at Oil Refineries and caused a fire that disconnected supply sources but there were no casualties.

"Full control has been achieved over the impact incident at the Haifa refineries," it said after examining the site for hazardous materials. "Tests carried out by monitoring teams found no abnormal air values and there is no danger to the public."

Last June, Oil Refineries in Haifa was hit by an Iranian missile, which killed three people and halted operations.


Trump Says Not Putting US Troops in Region Amid Iran War

Plumes of smoke rise from the site of a strike in Tehran on March 16, 2026. (AFP)
Plumes of smoke rise from the site of a strike in Tehran on March 16, 2026. (AFP)
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Trump Says Not Putting US Troops in Region Amid Iran War

Plumes of smoke rise from the site of a strike in Tehran on March 16, 2026. (AFP)
Plumes of smoke rise from the site of a strike in Tehran on March 16, 2026. (AFP)

US President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested he was not looking at deploying soldiers to the Middle East with the Iran war heading toward a fourth week.   

"I'm not putting troops anywhere," Trump ‌said in ‌response to a reporter ‌who ⁠asked whether he ⁠was planning to send more service members to the region. "If I were, I certainly wouldn't tell you. But I'm not putting ⁠troops. We will do ‌whatever ‌is necessary."   

Trump spoke at the White House ‌during an Oval Office ‌meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that the Trump administration is considering deploying thousands of US troops to reinforce its operation in the Middle East, as the US military prepares for possible next steps in its campaign against Iran, said a US official and three people familiar with the matter. 

The deployments could help provide Trump with additional options as he weighs expanding US operations, with the Iran war well into its third week. 

Those options include securing safe passage for oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a mission that would be accomplished primarily through air and naval forces, the sources said. But securing the Strait could also mean deploying US troops to Iran's shoreline, said four sources, including two US officials. 

Reuters granted the sources anonymity to speak about military planning. 

The Trump administration has also discussed options to send ground forces to Iran's Kharg Island, the hub for 90% of Iran's oil exports, the three people familiar with the matter and three US officials said. One of the officials said such an operation would be very risky. Iran has the ability to reach the island with missiles and drones. 

The United States carried out strikes against military targets on the island on March 13 and Trump has threatened to also strike ‌its critical oil ‌infrastructure. However, given its vital role in Iran's economy, controlling the island would likely be viewed as a better ‌option ⁠than destroying it, ⁠military experts say. 

Any use of US ground troops - even for a limited mission - could pose significant political risks for Trump, given low support among the American public for the Iran campaign and Trump's own campaign promises to avoid entangling the US in new Middle East conflicts. 

Trump administration officials have also discussed the possibility of deploying US forces to secure Iran's stocks of highly enriched uranium, one of the people familiar with the matter said. 

The sources did not believe a deployment of ground forces anywhere in Iran was imminent but declined to discuss specifics of US operational planning. Experts say the task of securing Iran's uranium stockpiles would be highly complex and risky, even for US special operations forces. 

A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "There has been no decision to send ground troops at this time, but President Trump wisely keeps all options ⁠at his disposal. 

"The president is focused on achieving all of the defined objectives of Operation Epic Fury: destroy Iran's ballistic missile ‌capacity, annihilate their navy, ensure their terrorist proxies cannot destabilize the region, and guarantee that Iran can ‌never possess a nuclear weapon." 

Asked on Thursday whether he intended to put more troops in the region, Trump told reporters that he was not putting troops "anywhere," but that ‌if he was going to, he would not tell journalists. 

The Pentagon declined to comment. 

The discussions come as the US military continues to attack Iran's navy, its ‌missile and drone stockpiles and its defense industry. 

The US has carried out more than 7,800 strikes since launching the war on February 28 and damaged or destroyed more than 120 Iranian vessels so far, according to a factsheet released on Wednesday by the US Central Command, which oversees the roughly 50,000 US troops in the Middle East. 

US CASUALTIES 

Trump has said his goals go beyond degrading Iran's military capabilities and could include securing safe passage through the Strait and preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. 

Ground forces could help broaden ‌his options to address those goals, but carry significant risk. Even without any direct conflict in Iran, 13 US troops have been killed so far in the war and about 200 have been wounded, although the vast ⁠majority of the injuries have been minor, ⁠the US military says. 

For years, Trump has railed against his predecessors for getting involved in conflicts and has vowed to keep the United States out of foreign wars. But more recently he has refused to rule out the possibility of "boots on the ground" in Iran. 

A senior White House official told Reuters that Trump has various options for acquiring Iran's nuclear material but has not decided how to proceed. "Certainly there are ways in which it could be acquired," the official said, adding: "He hasn't made a decision yet." 

In written testimony to lawmakers on Wednesday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Iran's nuclear enrichment program had been obliterated by strikes in June and the entrances to those underground facilities had been "buried and shuttered with cement." 

The sources said the discussions on US reinforcements go beyond the arrival of an Amphibious Ready Group next week in the Middle East, with an attached Marine Expeditionary Unit that includes more than 2,000 Marines. 

But one of the sources noted that the US military was losing a significant number of forces with the decision to send the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier to Greece for maintenance after a fire on board the vessel. 

Trump has also oscillated on whether the US should secure the Strait of Hormuz. 

After initially saying the US Navy could escort vessels, he called on other countries to help open the key water way. Trump on Wednesday also mused about simply leaving. 

"I wonder what would happen if we 'finished off' what's left of the Iranian Terror State, and let the Countries that use it, we don't, be responsible for the so called 'Strait?,'" Trump posted on Truth Social. 


Pentagon Seeks $200 Billion in Additional Funds for the Iran War

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., US, March 19, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., US, March 19, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci
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Pentagon Seeks $200 Billion in Additional Funds for the Iran War

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., US, March 19, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth holds a briefing with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., US, March 19, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci

The Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, a senior administration official says.

The department sent the request to the White House, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private information.

It’s an extraordinarily high number and comes on top of extra funding the Defense Department already received last year in President Donald Trump’s big tax cuts bill, The AP news reported.

Congress is bracing for a new spending request but it is not clear the White House has transmitted the request for consideration. It is unclear the spending request would have support.

The new funding request was first reported by The Washington Post. Asked about the figure at a press conference Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not directly confirm the figure, saying it could change. But he said “we’re going back to Congress and our folks there to to ensure that we’re properly funded.”

“It takes money to kill bad guys,” Hegseth said.