Russia receives mostly ex-convicts in prisoner swap
Illustrative photo (Photo: Getty Images)
During the Russian-Ukrainian prisoner exchange, Russia mostly receives its former prisoners, reveals the head of the press service of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Petro Yatsenko.
"Most of the Russian servicemen captured are those fighting on the front lines. As we know, Russia sends a lot of its former prisoners who signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense to these regions," he says.
Yatsenko also notes that "quite a few" occupants from the "Storm-Z" units and various so-called private military companies are in Ukrainian camps for prisoners of war.
"Logically, the majority of those we hand over are former Russian prisoners," he adds.
Prisoner exchange on January 3
On January 3, the largest prisoner exchange since the full-scale invasion took place between Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine managed to bring home 230 defenders.
This prisoner exchange took place after a prolonged pause. Russia had long obstructed the exchange process. It's worth noting that this is the 49th prisoner exchange since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the first in 2024. So far, Ukraine has succeeded in repatriating 2828 defenders.
