Prisoner swap 1,000 for 1,000: Zelenskyy reveals who Ukraine plans to bring home
Photo: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Getty Images)
Ukraine is negotiating a large-scale prisoner exchange with Russia in a 1,000 for 1,000 format, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated during a press briefing.
According to him, Ukraine is currently discussing the exchange of prisoners of war. However, it has also sent signals to the other side about the possibility of exchanging political prisoners and journalists.
"I don’t want to go into details right now. We do not support the idea of exchanging children for soldiers. Children must return. It’s unjust, it’s outside the law, even outside the laws of war. The group led by Umerov, along with representatives of the security services and intelligence agencies, is working based on these principles," Zelenskyy said.
Prisoner exchange 1,000 for 1,000
On May 16, Ukrainian and Russian delegations held talks in Istanbul, spending over an hour discussing issues related to ending the war in Ukraine.
Following the meeting, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced that the sides had agreed to a prisoner exchange in a 1,000 for 1,000 format. Russia later confirmed the agreement.
Vadym Skibitskyi, a representative of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, said that the Ukrainian side has already begun preparing the lists for return.
According to the chief of Ukraine's Intelligence Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine hopes to carry out the large-scale prisoner swap with Russia as early as next week.
It has also been reported recently that Ukraine’s Security Service is currently compiling lists of Russian soldiers who may be transferred to Russia.
