Ukraine Russia: Soldiers return after captivity

Ukraine Russia: Soldiers return after captivity

A new prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia has started, as official bodies from both countries confirmed on Monday. Among the returning Ukrainian soldiers are also those that were almost the entire duration of the war in captivity.

Details on the prisoner exchange

The exchange, the last week during as well as seriously wounded soldiers. The Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj confirmed this via Telegram.

The prisoner exchange takes place in the course of a dispute

The released include Ukrainian soldiers who the City> Mariupol had defended, which was suspended in the first weeks of the war, a brutal Russian attack, according to the Ukrainian coordination headquarters for the treatment of prisoners of war. The majority of the released people have been captured since 2022, such as Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian parliamentary representative for human rights.

Russia's confirmation of exchange

The Department of Defense also confirmed that the exchange was underway. "The Russian soldiers are currently in the Republic of Belarus, where they receive the necessary psychological and medical support," said the Ministry.

greatest exchange since the start of the war

Wladimir Medinski, the head of the Russian delegation for peace talks with Ukraine, said last week that it would be the greatest prisoner exchange since the beginning of the Three Years' War. He stated that Russia would hand over the funeral bags of more than 6,000 fallen Ukrainian soldiers and transfer an indefinite number of wounded soldiers.

The news from Monday falls into a time when both sides raised mutual allegations in connection with the exchange at the weekend. Russia accused the Ukraine, the transmission of the

continuation of the negotiations

The prisoner exchange is the result of a second round Direct peace negotiations Istanbul took place. Although the exchange was agreed, there were no significant breakthroughs because the conversations lasted a little over an hour.

Since the prisoner exchange will take several days and is "quite complex", negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are continued "almost daily" according to Selenskyj. "We count on the complete implementation of the humanitarian agreements that were made during the meeting in Istanbul. We do everything to bring every single person back. We are working on all levels," he added.