“Today the next stage of a large exchange of prisoners of war took place in the category” wounded and seriously ill “in accordance with the agreements achieved in Istanbul. On behalf of the President of Ukraine, the coordination staff for prisoners of war recovered from Russian captivity defenders with injuries and health problems” – reads in the communication.
The staff informed that the Ukrainians returned to the country, who fought in Donetsk, Zaporoski, Lugansk, Kherson, Kharkiv, Sumsky and Kurski.
“The vast majority of defenders released today have been in captivity since 2022. A significant part of them were taken prisoner during the defense of Mariupol. Most of the released defenders today are officers. Some are less than 25 years old” – noted the staff.
Another exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine
On Saturday, as part of Istanbul agreements, the next stage of repatriation activities took place. “Ukraine received another 1,200 bodies, which according to the Russian side belong to the citizens of Ukraine, including military staff,” it was written in a statement.
The staff said that investigators from law enforcement agencies together with expert institutions of the Ministry of the Interior would conduct all necessary tests and identify repatriated bodies. He thanked for help in recovering the remains of soldiers to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The exchange of prisoners of war and bodies of fallen soldiers was agreed during the second round of Ukrainian-Russian negotiations on June 2 in Istanbul. The parties who talked there through the Turkish authorities have established the exchange of all seriously ill prisoners of war and be less than 25 years old and the exchange of bodies of soldiers in the 6000 to 6000 formula.
