Kremlin plans provocation during final days of POW exchange - Ukraine's Intelligence
Photo: Prisoner exchange (t.me/dmytro_lubinetzs)
The Kremlin is preparing a cynical provocation against Ukrainian prisoners of war and their families for the final days of the prisoner exchange, tentatively set for June 20. The decision to launch this campaign was made personally by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine reports.
According to Ukraine's Intelligence, the Russians plan to disseminate fake lists of deceased Ukrainian servicemen and civilians allegedly identified by Russia. The goal is to spark a wave of outrage and panic within Ukrainian society and to shift the blame onto the Ukrainian authorities.
Intelligence reports indicate that the start of the information campaign was personally sanctioned by the Head of the Kremlin, and it is being managed by one of the first deputy heads of Putin's administration. Russian propagandists are actively spreading emotionally charged messages in the media and on social networks, manipulating statistics, and portraying any delays in the exchange as sabotage by Ukraine.
The entire Kremlin propaganda network is involved in the campaign - from Simonyan and Solovyov to war correspondents and bloggers. In addition, pro-Russian marginal media in Europe are participating in its dissemination, including Hungary's Magyar Nemzet and Magyar Hírlap, the Czech CZ24.news, the Slovak Jednotné Slovensko, and the French-speaking Réseau International.
The main narratives being promoted by the Kremlin include: "Ukraine refuses to accept the bodies of its fallen soldiers," "the bodies of nearly six thousand soldiers still have not been returned to Ukraine," and "relatives of the dead will have to keep waiting due to the inaction of Ukrainian authorities."
The Foreign Intelligence Service emphasizes that the culmination of the campaign is scheduled for the final days of the exchanges (tentatively June 20).
"The final part of this will be the deliberate release to the media of distorted (false) lists of supposedly identified deceased Ukrainian servicemen and civilians. In this way, Russia hopes to provoke a wave of panic and outrage in Ukrainian society and to shift the responsibility for the crimes committed onto the Ukrainian authorities," the report says.
Prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia
During the second round of negotiations in Istanbul, Ukraine and Russia agreed on a new large-scale prisoner exchange. The parties agreed to return the wounded, seriously ill, and prisoners aged 18–25.
Prisoner exchanges took place on June 9, 10, and 12, and on Saturday, June 14. Among those returned were soldiers who had been held in captivity since 2022, including defenders of Mariupol, as well as officers.
Also in Istanbul, Ukraine and Russia agreed on the return of the bodies of the deceased under the 6,000 for 6,000 formula. Repatriation operations took place on June 11, 13, and 15. Yesterday, the bodies of 1,200 fallen soldiers were returned to Ukraine.
RBC-Ukraine has also shown exclusive footage of the large-scale prisoner exchange published by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
