Two exchanges of prisoners: Zelensky announces good news for families
3 June 02:27
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that one of the important results of the talks between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul was an agreement on the exchange of prisoners. In total, 1200 Ukrainians may return home. The president said this during a conversation with journalists, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
“What we have agreed on. There will be an exchange of military personnel. There will be a 1000-for-1000 exchange, possibly an additional 200-for-200 exchange, because Ukraine has raised the issue of additional military, political prisoners and journalists,” the head of state said.
He clarified that Ukraine and Russia plan to exchange lists of names this week. According to Zelenskyy, he hopes that this time Russia will hand over the lists in advance.
The President added that Russia has declared its readiness to hand over the bodies of 6,000 fallen defenders. In turn, Ukraine has agreed to hand over the bodies of the same number of dead Russians. At the same time, Zelenskyy noted that it was important to check everything in advance, as there had been cases when Russians had handed over their dead soldiers to Ukraine.
The president also noted that Ukraine and Russia have exchanged memoranda. Ukraine handed over itss in advance, while Russia handed it over only during today’s talks. In its “memorandum,” Russia apparently repeated its ultimatum demands. This information was received by the intelligence services of Ukraine’s partner countries, Zelenskyy said, although he emphasized that he had not yet seen the document itself.
