Ukraine denies Russian claim that almost no POWs remain after swap
Photo: representative of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine Andrii Yusov (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Russians claim that there are almost no Russian prisoners of war left in Ukraine. However, this information does not correspond to reality, says Andrii Yusov, representative of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine.
He notes that Russia's statements are lies that are being spread to sow panic and disbelief within Ukrainian society, as well as to increase patriotic sentiment within Russia.
According to Yusov, there are no tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers in Russian captivity, but there are thousands of Russian prisoners in Ukraine. The representative of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine did not disclose specific figures for the captured Russian troops.
"And the work on replenishing the exchange fund will continue, despite various manipulations," Yusov adds.
Big prisoner exchange
On May 16, Ukraine and Russia agreed to conduct a 1000-for-1000 prisoner exchange during the first negotiations in 3 years.
Türkiye said that it proposed the prisoner exchange when the talks in Istanbul reached a deadlock.
The exchange took place in three stages, with a total of 1,000 military and civilians returned to Ukraine.
After the first stage of the big exchange on May 23, Russian Telegram channels claimed that only 1,300 captured Russian soldiers were left in Ukraine, while almost 10,000 Ukrainian defenders were in Russia.
