New prisoner exchange. Ukraine returns wounded defenders home

On the afternoon of June 19, Ukraine conducted a new prisoner exchange. These are soldiers from the Armed Forces, the National Guard, and the State Border Service — most of whom had been in Russian captivity since 2022.

This was reported by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.

Todayʼs exchange is part of a larger exchange of prisoners in the "seriously ill and wounded" category, agreed upon during talks in Istanbul. The number of released soldiers is not being specified for security reasons.

Each defender released today has serious medical diagnoses and illnesses resulting from their injuries and captivity, the Coordination Headquarters notes. Many have significant weight loss, dystrophy, ulcers, vision problems, musculoskeletal diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and digestive problems.

Most of the released soldiers had been in Russian captivity for over 3 years. A significant number of them were captured during the defense of Mariupol.

The soldiers released today are privates and non-commissioned officers. They fought in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, as well as Zaporizhzhia and Kyiv regions.

The servicemen will then undergo all necessary medical examinations. They will receive assistance with physical and psychological rehabilitation, as well as all due payments for the entire time they were in captivity.

• A large exchange in several stages was agreed upon at negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul on June 2. It was there that the parties decided to focus on exchanges in the "all-for-all" format by categories: seriously wounded and seriously ill, and young people aged 18 to 25.
• Several stages of prisoner exchanges in this format have already taken place — June 9, 10, 12, and 14.

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