A potential exchange in the “1,000-for-1,000” format has been discussed with regard to prisoners of war. Ukraine has also signaled interest in including political prisoners and journalists. Details and dates are already under discussion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this during a briefing on Monday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
“Today, we are talking about the exchange of prisoners of war. There have also been signals from our side concerning political prisoners and journalists. I don’t want to go into details now — exchanging children for soldiers, for example, I believe that’s. […] To be honest, we do not support that approach. Children should be returned unconditionally. This [exchanging children for military personnel] is unfair and outside the bounds of both law and the laws of war,” he said.
He emphasized that a working group, led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, along with representatives of the Security Service of Ukraine and intelligence agencies, is handling the process on these principles.
“Today, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov contacted the Russian side — specifically, Vladimir Medinsky, the head of the Russian delegation at the negotiations in Turkey, regarding the 1,000-for-1,000 exchange format. They are currently working on the details,” Zelensky added.
He noted that both sides, and especially Ukraine, are interested in carrying out the exchange.
“I believe that in the coming days or weeks, we’ll see concrete results. The details and dates are already being discussed,” Zelensky said.
Umerov earlier commented on the negotiations with the Russian delegation in Istanbul, stating that a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange could take place in the near future.
On May 17, the Joint Center for Coordination of the Search and Release of Prisoners under the Security Service of Ukraine began preparatory steps for a potential 1,000-for-1,000 exchange.
Source: Zelensky says dates for '1,000-for-1,000' prisoner exchange already being discussed
