Russia has sentenced an Australian man to 13 years in a maximum-security prison for fighting alongside Ukrainian forces, state prosecutors in the Russian-controlled parts of eastern Ukraine said Friday.

Ukraine and Russia have agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war each after the first face-to-face talks in three years The date for the transfer has been set, but is not being made public, Ukraine's defence minister says Ukraine also requested direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin - Moscow says it "noted" this request

Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each during peace talks held in Istanbul on Friday, in what would be the biggest prisoner swap of the conflict. The negotiations, which lasted less than two hours and were mediated by Turkey, marked the first time the nations have engaged in direct peace talks since the war began.