Another stage of prisoner exchange took place between Ukraine and the Russian Federation

On Thursday, June 26, another stage of the exchange of prisoners of war took place. Soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, and the State Border Service returned home. Most of them had been in captivity since 2022.

This was reported by President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

This is a continuation of the large exchange in accordance with the Istanbul Agreements. Defenders under the age of 25, wounded defenders and those with health problems are now home. Representatives of the Navy, Ground Forces, Airborne Assault Forces, and the Territorial Defense Forces were also returned from captivity.

Most of the released fighters were held captive for more than three years. A significant number of them were captured while defending Mariupol. The youngest soldier is 24 years old and was captured during the defense of the city in April 2022.

It was also possible to free the National Guardsmen who were guarding the Chernobyl nuclear power plant from captivity. The oldest defender who returned home is 62 years old. Among those released today are officers. In total, Ukrainians who fought in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Kherson, Kyiv and Sumy directions were freed.

• 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, 12,14, 19, 20.

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