Ukraine expanding negotiation group for prisoner exchanges - Ukraine's Security Service

Ukraine to expand negotiation group for prisoner exchanges

Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Vasyl Malyuk, announced that Ukraine is expanding the negotiation group, which, on behalf of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, has been preparing exchanges. The group will now also include the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), Defence Intelligence, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Armed Forces, Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service, and the Ombudsman representatives.

"I am confident that this approach will allow us to combine our efforts and more effectively fight for each defender of Ukraine to bring them home. The synergy and combination of our efforts will yield the desired results as soon as possible," said the head of the SSU.

He noted that this concerns not only military personnel exchanges but also civilians, including those whom Russia has illegally detained since 2014.

"The return of Ukrainian defenders is a top priority task set by the Supreme Commander, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It is a significant part of our function. Additionally, SSU officers are working successfully to maximize our exchange fund," Malyuk emphasized.

It is worth noting that fighting has been ongoing for the second week in the Kursk region. Ukrainian forces currently control more than 70 settlements in the Kursk region. Ukraine has even established a military commandant’s office in the Kursk region, led by Major General Eduard Moskalev.

Also, just yesterday, Ukrainian defenders managed to capture a Russian soldiers' battalion in the Kursk region. Today it was reported that among the captives are fighters from the Kadyrov's Akhmat unit.

Furthermore, The Independent stated that Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region have captured about 2,000 Russian soldiers.