ISTANBUL 

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to exchange letters and parcels for 500 prisoners of war on each side, Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said Friday.

“We have a list of 500 Russian and 500 Ukrainian prisoners of war, and we agreed not to wait until all the lists are complete, but to start collecting and delivering packages as soon as they are ready,” Moskalkova told reporters in Moscow, as cited by the Tass news agency.

She expressed hope that the exchange of letters and parcels would take place before the New Year.

The initiative is part of ongoing humanitarian contacts between Moscow and Kyiv amid limited dialogue over prisoner exchanges and repatriation of remains.