President Volodymyr Zelensky expects several stages of prisoner exchanges to be carried out in accordance with the agreements reached at the second meeting in Istanbul.
The head of state announced this on Telegram, according to Ukrinform.
“I have heard reports on the stages of prisoner exchanges that have been carried out and those that are being prepared. We expect several stages of exchanges to be carried out in accordance with the agreements reached at the second meeting in Istanbul, and we are continuing our other activities to secure the release of our people, both military and civilian. This work is being coordinated by the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, with all the necessary forces and institutions involved,” Zelensky said.
He noted that during the spring and summer of this year, it was possible to significantly intensify the exchanges.
“Among those freed from captivity are people who were classified as missing, as well as people who had been held in Russian prisons and camps since the start of the full-scale war. That is why our team is checking the information on each surname. We are looking for all of our people. Separately, today we reported on measures to rehabilitate those returned from captivity, as well as the work being done to investigate crimes against Ukrainian prisoners,“ the head of state said, adding that it is necessary to ”restore justice, and for this we are working at all levels — legal, political, and special operations.»
The president also thanked Ukrainian intelligence, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the OP team, the Security Service of Ukraine, the ombudsman, and everyone involved in the Coordination Headquarters team.
As reported by Ukrinform, the first round of negotiations took place in Istanbul on May 16. The Ukrainian delegation was headed by then-Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, while the Russian delegation was headed by Putin’s aide Vladimir Medynskyi. As a result of the negotiations, an agreement was reached, in particular, on the exchange of prisoners in a “1000 for 1000” format.
On June 2, the second round of negotiations between the delegations of Ukraine and the Russian Federation took place in Istanbul, during which an agreement was reached on the exchange of prisoners of war of two categories — the wounded and seriously wounded, as well as young soldiers under the age of 25 — in an “all for all” format. In addition, the issue of exchanging the bodies of deceased soldiers was agreed upon.
Photo: OP
