Russia and Ukraine have completed the first phase of what is expected to be the biggest prisoner exchange since the start of the war, with almost 800 people released on Friday.

CHERNIHIV REGION, Ukraine (AP) — An exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine from their more than three-year war was underway Friday, a senior Ukrainian official said. The swap was not yet finished, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov cast doubt on Friday over the Vatican as a potential location for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, saying that the Holy See itself would find it uncomfortable to host two mainly Orthodox Christian nations.

Russia and Ukraine have no direct peace talks scheduled, the Kremlin said Thursday, nearly a week after their first face-to-face session since shortly after Moscow’s invasion in 2022 and days after U.