A third group of soldiers has returned from Ukrainian captivity under a major prisoner exchange, the Russian Defense Ministry has said
Moscow and Kiev exchanged a third group of POWs on Thursday under a major prisoner swap agreed to in Istanbul earlier this month, the Russian Defense Ministry has said.
The freed soldiers are currently in Belarus and will be transferred to Russia for treatment and rehabilitation, the ministry said in a statement. A group of Ukrainian POWs has also been handed over to Kiev, the military added, without specifying the number of exchanged soldiers.
The Defense Ministry released a video showing the freed servicemen phoning their relatives and waving Russian flags before boarding a bus at an undisclosed location.
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky confirmed the swap, describing it as the “second stage” of an exchange of “seriously wounded and gravely ill soldiers.” He did not provide details on the number of soldiers swapped.
Moscow and Kiev agreed to exchange certain categories of POWs, including those who are seriously injured, ill and those under the age of 25, during the second round of direct negotiations held in Istanbul on June 2.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Kiev has been behind schedule with the exchange and was unable to perform the swaps “daily” as agreed in Istanbul. “Unfortunately, the Ukrainian side is not ready to conduct exchanges in that swift mode,” the military said in a statement.
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