Ukraine-Russia prisoner swap takes shocking turn: Officials may not know who's returning
The next prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia could take place in a "blind" format - the Ukrainian side may not know the names of all the people who will be returned, states Petro Yatsenko, a representative of the Coordination Headquarters for Treatment of Prisoners of War.
According to him, during the previous exchange, the Russian side handed over the lists practically at the last moment, which didn't allow time to review and verify all the people.
At the same time, Yatsenko noted that this is just the format of the exchange and urged people not to be overly critical about it.
"Usually, exchanges are prepared for a long time, carefully, often for months, but this time the exchanges are quick. On one hand, this creates certain obligations, but on the other hand, it's good that our people will return. This is always a positive," said the Coordination Headquarters representative.
Prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine
During peace negotiations in Istanbul on May 16, Russian and Ukrainian delegations agreed on a prisoner exchange using a 1000 for 1000 formula.
Following lengthy preparations, from May 23-25, 1,000 prisoners returned to Ukraine, most of whom were fighters from the Navy, Air Assault Forces, Territorial Defense Forces, the National Guard of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.
During negotiations in Istanbul on June 2, Ukraine and Russia agreed on a new exchange of severely wounded and seriously ill prisoners of war in an all-for-all format.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced two prisoner exchanges with Russia for June 7-8. However, he noted that the Russian side has still not provided lists of people who could be returned.
