On Monday, June 9, Ukraine and Russia began a new exchange of prisoners of war, which will continue in several stages in the coming days.
This was reported by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Among the categories of Ukrainians who are being returned home now are seriously wounded and seriously ill defenders, as well as those under the age of 25. The exact number of those released from captivity is not being disclosed for security reasons.
"The process is quite complicated, there are many sensitive details, negotiations continue virtually every day. We expect that the agreements on humanitarian issues reached during the meeting in Istanbul will be fully implemented," Zelensky added.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War clarified that among those released today are representatives of the Navy, Ground Forces, Territorial Defense Forces, Air Force, Airborne Assault Forces, Border Guard Service, National Guard, and State Special Transport Service.
All the liberated defenders are privates and non-commissioned officers. Among them are the defenders of Mariupol, who spent more than three years in captivity. Work is underway to repatriate the bodies of the deceased Ukrainian soldiers, the Headquarters added.
- The second round of talks between Ukraine and Russia concluded 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, young people from 18 to 25 years old. They also agreed to exchange 6 000 bodies of dead soldiers.
- Later, the head of the Russian delegation at the negotiations in Istanbul Vladimir Medinsky, accused Ukraine of postponing the exchange of prisoners of war for an “indefinite period”. Kyiv denied this. The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War emphasized that Russia had provided Ukraine with completely different lists for the exchange.
- The first direct negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow took place on May 16. After that, there was a prisoner exchange in the format of "1000 for 1000".
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