Zelenskyy discloses timeline for preparations to begin for body exchange with Russia
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
After the prisoner exchange with Russia scheduled for this weekend, preparations will begin for the exchange of the bodies of fallen soldiers, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced this during a briefing.
According to the president, Ukraine has documents showing that Russia has identified only 15-20% of all the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers they hold.
"Therefore, we agreed that everyone should prepare properly to ensure clear identification. We do not take our fallen lightly; it is crucial that we receive the bodies of Ukrainians, not Russians, whom they want to get rid of — there has already been such a precedent. That is why our position is that after the prisoner exchange, preparations will begin for the exchange of bodies. Again, due to technically important matters, we believe this order is necessary," Zelenskyy emphasized.
Exchange of bodies
On June 2, Ukraine and Russia held the second round of peace talks in Istanbul. Among other topics, the parties discussed new prisoner exchanges.
The Ukrainian and Russian delegations agreed to carry out exchanges of certain categories of prisoners based on an all for all formula, and to exchange the bodies of fallen soldiers on the front lines using a 6,000-for-6,000 formula.
