Russian armed forces are creating a “security buffer zone” along the border between Russia and Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.

Zelensky raised the stakes ahead of a potential meeting with Vladimir Putin in Turkey by saying he wouldn’t hold talks with any Russian representative other than the president himself.

A prisoner swap is underway Friday between Ukraine and Russia, Ukrainian officials said. The swap, involving 1,000 prisoners from each side, began on Friday and was not yet completed, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty,

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that a major prisoner swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine.

The exchange, which is taking place over three days starting Friday, follows the first face-to-face negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow in nearly three years.