Zelensky: Ukraine has begun working on lists of Russian civilian prisoners

President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that the Ukrainian side is already compiling lists of civilians held in Russian captivity.

This was discussed at the head of stateʼs meeting with journalists on July 24.

Zelensky recalled that following the third round of talks in Istanbul on July 23, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to exchange 1 200 prisoners of war. One of the important aspects, according to the president, is the Kremlinʼs political prisoners and journalists in captivity.

"We started working on the lists. Now this is the category of political prisoners and journalists. And you know that we cannot exchange civilians. They must release civilians. Therefore, we are now looking for a format for the lists. Both from our side and from their side," Zelensky explained.

He also spoke about Russiaʼs demand to return 20 Russian children and 30 residents of the Kursk region. The President emphasized that Ukraine does not hold minors from Russia on its territory.

"In fact, Iʼm not surprised. Why? Because when we talked about Putinʼs illegitimacy, how to deal with him, they took up the story about my illegitimacy, etc. as a weapon. As soon as we said that they were not taking their dead, they began to offer us an exchange of bodies. Although before that, on the battlefield it happened without media attention, calmly, quietly, no one exerted the kind of media pressure that they did," Volodymyr Zelensky said.

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