Russia offers Ukraine partial '2-3 day' ceasefire for 'commanders to collect bodies of soldiers'

Russia proposed a partial ceasefire lasting "two to three days," at talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on Monday, according to Moscow's chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky.

"We have proposed a specific ceasefire for two to three days in certain areas of the front line," Medinsky said, “so that commanders can collect the bodies of their soldiers,” reported AFP.

The second round of peace talks between the strife-torn nations, hosted by Turkish officials, comes after the first round of negotiations held on May 16, which lasted two hours and concluded with an agreement on a large-scale prisoner exchange but yielded no significant progress toward ending the war.

Preparing for ‘new release of prisoners of war’

The latest talks between Ukraine and Russia lasted an hour.

The two sides agreed to swap 6,000 bodies of soldiers killed in action.

Speaking in Vilnius, Lithuania, Zelenskyy said both sides “exchanged documents through the Turkish side, and we are preparing a new release of prisoners of the war,” reported AP.

Russia's Tu-95, other aircrafts destroyed; ‘Spider Web’

The second round of talks between Ukraine and Russia comes a day after the two nations launched massive attacks.

The first round of talks, held on May 16, also in Istanbul, ended after less than two hours. While both sides had agreed on a large prisoner swap, there was no breakthrough.

Ukraine, on Sunday — in an unprecedented strike codenamed ‘Spider Web’ allegedly overseen by President Zelensky — struck deep inside Russian territory, attacking four airfields, and destroying over 40 Russian aircraft.

Russian aircraft including the Tu-95 and Tu-22 M3 long-range bombers capable of deploying conventional and nuclear weapons as well as the A-50, are reported to have been damaged after Ukraine's drone attack, added Reuters.

Also on Sunday, Moscow launched one of its longest drone and missile attacks against Kyiv with air sirens lasting for more than nine hours, escalating tensions ahead of the peace talks.