Ukraine and Russia agree on new prisoner swap at Istanbul talks, says Zelenskyy
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Getty Images)
The Ukrainian and Russian delegations agreed on a new prisoner exchange at a meeting in Istanbul on June 2, says President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a press conference following the NATO eastern flank meeting in Vilnius.
"As for the Istanbul talks – I am currently waiting for a full report from Umerov, they exchanged views and we are preparing a new prisoner exchange," Zelenskyy said.
Prisoner swap in the 1,000-for-1,000 format
At the negotiations on May 16, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations agreed on a massive prisoner exchange in the 1,000-for-1,000 format.
The exchange process took place in stages over several days and began on Friday, May 23.
During the first stage, 390 Ukrainians were released from Russian captivity: 270 servicemen and 120 civilians. Among those freed were representatives of the Navy, Air Assault Forces, National Guard, Territorial Defense Forces, and Border Guard Service.
The following day Ukraine returned 307 servicemen. Among them were 27 defenders of Mariupol; for the first time, soldiers from certain military units were also released.
On May 25, another 303 Ukrainians returned from Russian captivity, including 70 soldiers who had defended Mariupol.
Exclusive footage of the prisoner exchange was published by the Security Service of Ukraine.
