Ukraine keeps POW return numbers under wraps for security reasons
Photo: Ukraine and Russia held a new stage of prisoner exchange (t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official)
Ukraine and Russia conducted another prisoner exchange on Monday, June 9. This time, the number of returned Ukrainians was not announced for security reasons, according to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
“The 66th prisoner exchange continues. For security reasons, the final numbers of those released will be made public after the exchange process is completed,” the statement said.
The coordination center added that Ukraine is consistently working to implement the all-for-all exchange formula in all categories.
Prisoner exchange
On Monday, June 9, Ukraine and Russia conducted another prisoner exchange. The prisoners from certain categories were freed as was agreed upon at the talks in Istanbul, Türkiye, on June 2.
According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the categories of prisoners returned today include the wounded and seriously injured, as well as those under 25.
The Ukrainian side expects that the agreements on humanitarian issues reached during the meeting in Istanbul will be fully implemented.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said that today Ukrainians under 25, mostly born in 2000, returned home. These are soldiers of the Armed Forces, the State Border Guard Service, the National Guard, and the Territorial Defense.
“There are returned defenders of the Ukrainian Marines and Air Assault Forces. There are also those defenders who were captured in Mariupol,” said Lubinets.
The vast majority of those returned have been in captivity since 2022, and some were captured in the first days of the full-scale invasion.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War informed that all those returned from Russian captivity today are members of the enlisted and non-commissioned officer ranks.
