Russia and Ukraine hold another POW exchange
Russia and Ukraine have conducted a new prisoner swap, both nations have confirmed. The exchange on Saturday is the latest in a series that have been held since the start of the week.
During the latest round of direct talks in Istanbul on June 2, Moscow and Kiev agreed to carry out a series of exchanges, focusing primarily on seriously injured, ill, and younger captives. Russia also unilaterally decided to repatriate the bodies of more than 6,000 fallen Ukrainian troops on humanitarian grounds.
In a statement on Saturday, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said that earlier in the day, “another group of Russian service members was returned from the territories controlled by the Kiev regime.” Russian military officials added that Ukraine similarly received an undisclosed number of its soldiers who had been held in Russian captivity.
The ministry accompanied its message with a short video showing the released Russian troops, saying they were currently receiving psychological and medical assistance in Belarus, before being transferred to Russian military hospitals for treatment and rehabilitation.
In a post on Telegram on Saturday, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky confirmed the “fourth [POW] exchange in a week.”
Earlier in the day, Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported that Moscow handed over another 1,200 bodies of fallen Ukrainian troops to Kiev, as quoted by local media.
Similar POW exchanges took place on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, with neither Moscow nor Kiev disclosing the number of captives they handed over and received.
Russia’s top negotiator in Istanbul, Vladimir Medinsky, previously said around 1,200 prisoners each were expected to be handed over by Moscow and Kiev respectively.
On Wednesday and Friday, Russia handed over the remains of 1,200 fallen Ukrainian soldiers on each occasion.
