Zelenskyy announces third phase of prisoner exchange starts tomorrow
Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the third phase of a large-scale prisoner exchange will begin tomorrow. This week, 1,000 Ukrainians held by Russia are expected to return home.
"The exchange continued today. Another 307 of our warriors have returned home. Privates and Sergeants. Most are from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, there are also the National Guard and the State Border Guard Service," Zelenskyy explained.
He said that 273 released individuals had been captured in the Donetsk region. Many of them were taken prisoner back in 2022. Others were captured in the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Luhansk regions.
The President said that over the past two days of exchanges, 697 Ukrainians have already returned home.
“Tomorrow is the third phase. We have to free 1,000 of our people in the coming days. But the task is to free absolutely everyone who is currently held in Russia. This task is a shared responsibility for our intelligence services, for our diplomats, for our entire state,” he emphasized.
Zelenskyy acknowledged that the mission is difficult, but stressed that it must be completed.
"I am grateful to everyone in the world who helps us. And this is truly very important for us — that our partners, every leader, every country — support us in this difficult work," he concluded.
1,000-for-1,000 prisoner swap
On May 16, Ukrainian and Russian delegations agreed on a prisoner exchange in the 1,000-for-1,000 format.
Later, it was decided that due to the scale of the exchange, the process would take place in several stages. The first exchange occurred yesterday, May 23. Both sides released 390 people each, including 270 military personnel and 120 civilians.
Today was the second day of the exchange. This time, 307 defenders of Ukraine returned home.
For more details about yesterday's and today's exchanges, read RBC-Ukraine's report.
