Russia, Ukraine began the exchange of major prisoners, is expected to continue in the coming days

London – Russia and Ukraine have begun a major exchange of war prisoners on Friday, the Russian Ministry of Defense said, with around 1,000 troops from each party it was expected to be exchanged at the Ukraine-Bagius border when it was completed.

There were 270 Russian troops and 120 Russian civilians exchanged 270 Ukraine troops and 120 Ukraine civilians on Friday, according to the Ministry of Defense. The exchange is expected to continue “in the coming days,” Russia said.

The exchange was prepared after bilateral peace talks in Istanbul last week.

Although the first direct discussion between the fighters since the spring of 2022 – failed to approve the ceasefire, both parties agreed with the exchange of Friday prisoners.

Such exchanges have occurred throughout the 3-year-old Russian invasion, even though the exchanges have finished being the largest to date. Detention exchange is one of the few fields where Moscow and Kyiv can reach an agreement during the conflict.

The exchange of battles and long-distance drones continues even though the efforts led by the US to produce a ceasefire agreement.

Russia conducted a “large -scale air strike” on Ukraine last night on Friday using 175 drones and one ballistic missile, the Ukraine Air Force said.

Ukrainian air defense neutralized the 150 Russian drones, but damage was reported in Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Odesa, Chernivtsi, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, according to Ukrainia air forces.

Ukraine Air Force on Wednesday reported 76 Russian drones was launched to the country last night, where 63 of them were shot down or lost on flights without causing damage. The Air Force reports damage in four Ukraine regions.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said its troops sank at least 162 Ukraine drones overnight.

ABC News’ Natalia Popova contributes to this report.

This is a developing story. Please check again for updates.