Ukraine's intel chief hopes 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner swap will happen next week
Photo: Ukraine's Defense Intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine's Defense Intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, hopes that a large exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and Russia will take place next week.
Speaking on Ukrainian TV he says that the Ukrainian side is already working on lists of those who can be returned in a possible exchange.
“I hope it will happen next week. The exchange will be based on the lists, and we will take those who can be taken away. And we will return the same way,” Budanov said.
He was asked whether he saw any real prospects for a possible exchange.
“I don't see any particular problems for it,” Budanov replied.
1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange
On May 16, negotiations took place in Istanbul between representatives of Ukraine and Russia. For more than an hour, the parties discussed topics related to ending the war.
After the meeting, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who headed the Ukrainian delegation, said that the parties agreed on a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange.
It was later confirmed by the Russian side.
Vadym Skibitskyi, a representative of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, also said that Ukraine had already begun to work on the lists of people who would be returned home.
According to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, more than 4,000 prisoners of war and civilians have been released from Russian captivity since the beginning of the full-scale war.
On May 6, a large prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia took place. 205 Ukrainian soldiers were released.
The previous exchange took place on the eve of Easter when 277 defenders were released from Russian captivity.
