Russia calls upcoming prisoner exchange 'largest so far'
Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation and aide to the Russian President (Getty Images)
The Russian Federation has confirmed an agreement with Ukraine for another prisoner exchange. This exchange could be the largest yet, said Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation and aide to the Russian President.
"The exchange of prisoners of war will be on a parity basis. In total, no fewer than 1,000 people — possibly more, up to 1,200. They're still counting," Medinsky said.
According to him, "this will be the largest exchange since the start of the special military operation."
"It will be carried out according to the all-for-all formula, with priority given to the severely wounded, seriously ill, and young soldiers under the age of 25," clarified the head of the Russian delegation.
Medinsky also confirmed the statement by Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov regarding the exchange of the bodies of fallen soldiers. However, the Kremlin representative stated that Russia is unilaterally handing over 6,000 frozen bodies of servicemen to Ukraine.
"The bodies will be transferred to Ukraine next week," he said.
Meanwhile, Umerov noted that the body exchange would take place on a 6,000-for-6,000 basis.
Shortly before this, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that the Ukrainian and Russian delegations had agreed on a new prisoner exchange during their meeting in Istanbul on June 2.
Later, Umerov added that Ukraine is insisting on the release of all prisoners held by Russia and the return of abducted children. According to him, Ukraine and Russia have so far agreed to exchange all severely wounded and seriously ill prisoners of war.
Prisoner exchange in 1,000-for-1,000 format
During the first round of negotiations in Türkiye on May 16, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations agreed on a large-scale prisoner exchange in the 1,000-for-1,000 format. Due to the scale of the operation, the agreement was implemented in stages over several days.
The exchange began on Friday, May 23, when 390 Ukrainians were released from Russian captivity: 270 military personnel and 120 civilians. Among them were servicemen from the Navy, Air Assault Forces, National Guard, Territorial Defense, and Border Guard Service.
On the following day, May 24, Ukraine recovered another 307 servicemen, including 27 defenders of Mariupol, as well as soldiers from units that had not previously appeared on exchange lists.
Then, on May 25, another 303 Ukrainians were freed from Russian captivity, including 70 fighters who had taken part in the defense of Mariupol.
RBC-Ukraine published exclusive footage of this large-scale exchange, provided by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
