Zelensky confirmed: 175 prisoners will return to Ukraine today
19 March 2025 01:15
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed that the exchange of prisoners in the 175-for-175 format is indeed scheduled for today, March 19. The head of state said this during a meeting with journalists, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
“I knew about it (the exchange – ed.). I received this information from the SBU and the GUR. This is a pre-thought-out exchange. But in any case, exchanges are great for Ukraine,” Zelensky said.
In his opinion, if Russia returns all the prisoners, it will be an indication of the desire to end the war.
“To give all the prisoners back, I believe, is to demonstrate the will, the desire to end the war. Because prisoners, boys and girls, have been there for years. We are adequate people. We will not send them back to the front. They need help, medicine, some need rehabilitation. There are people with very serious injuries. Therefore, I believe that (the return of prisoners – ed.) is really a demonstration of the desire to end the war,” the President of Ukraine said.
As a reminder, Putin promised in a conversation with Trump that a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine would take place today, March 19. Russia allegedly promises to return 175 Ukrainian prisoners in the exchange.
At the same time, according to the dictator, Russia decided to hand over 23 seriously wounded Ukrainian soldiers to Ukraine. So far, the Ukrainian side has not confirmed this.
It should be noted that in February, as part of the prisoner exchange, 150 of our defenders returned to Ukraine, including fighters from Mariupol, Zaporizhzhia region and other frontline areas.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War clarified that the released prisoners include 47 sergeants, 69 soldiers, 16 sailors and 18 officers. All of them defended our country from the enemy on different frontlines. National Guardsmen who guarded the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, defenders of Mariupol and Azovstal have also returned home.
