The US and European leaders are placing their hopes in the Vatican to engage Russia and Ukraine in peace talks, after President Donald Trump said Pope Leo XIV had expressed interest in the idea. The Kremlin isn’t so keen.

President Trump said Russia and Ukraine were undertaking a major prisoner swap, in a post on social media early Friday. “A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

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.