More Ukraine-Russia POW exchanges coming soon, says Ukrainian intelligence
Photo: spokesman of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Andrii Yusov (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
The prisoner exchange with Russia that took place on June 26 is not the last. More stages are expected as the process continues, stated Andrii Yusov, a representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, in a comment to RBC-Ukraine.
According to Yusov, the exchange process faces many challenges. Otherwise, it would not have taken so long. However, the most important thing is the result - Ukrainians are returning home from Russian captivity.
"Today marked the seventh stage under the agreements reached in Istanbul. Those who returned home include seriously ill and severely wounded individuals, as well as young defenders. Most of them have been in captivity since 2022. Among them are officers, enlisted personnel, and sergeants. The work continues; this is not the end. This is just another stage, to be continued," Yusov assured.
Ukraine brings its soldiers home
On June 26, Ukraine carried out another stage of the prisoner exchange with Russia. Severely ill and seriously wounded Ukrainian servicemen, as well as soldiers aged 18 to 24, returned home. Most of them had been in captivity since 2022.
The exchange marked another step in implementing the agreement reached on June 2 in Istanbul. At that time, Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange all for all severely wounded and ill prisoners, as well as all prisoners of war aged 18 to 25. Before this, six exchange rounds had already taken place: on June 9, 10, 12, 14, 19, and 20.
In addition, Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul agreed on a body repatriation deal in a 6000 for 6000 format. The most recent stage under this agreement occurred on June 16. In total, Russia has returned 6,057 bodies to Ukraine.
However, along with the remains of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, Russia included several dozen of its own. At least 20 of the bodies handed over were confirmed to be dead Russian troops. Despite this, Ukraine intends to continue repatriating the bodies of the fallen in the future, but without tying the process to Istanbul.
