First phase of prisoner exchange of wounded, ill, under-25 soldiers completed between Ukraine and Russia

Further stages of the exchange will continue in the coming days. These stages aim to return more soldiers under 25, as well as those severely wounded and critically ill.

"The process is quite complex, with many sensitive details, and negotiations continue virtually every day. We count on the full implementation of the humanitarian agreements reached during the meeting in Istanbul. We are doing everything possible to bring back every single person. We are working toward this at every level," Zelenskyy said.

According to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, today's released group includes only those under 25 years old.

The released personnel belong to various branches of the Ukrainian military, including the Naval Forces, Ground Forces, Territorial Defense Forces, Air Force, Air Assault Forces, State Border Guard Service, National Guard, and the State Special Transport Service.

All the released service members are privates and sergeants, some of whom have been in captivity for over three years. The Coordination Headquarters stressed that efforts are also underway to repatriate the bodies of deceased soldiers. Final numbers of those released will be disclosed after the completion of the entire exchange for security reasons.

Earlier, Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation in the negotiations, claimed that the Ukrainian side had "unexpectedly postponed indefinitely both the reception of bodies and the exchange of prisoners of war."

The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War stated that this information does not correspond to reality or previous agreements. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense asserted that the Russian side is attempting to "rework" the agreements on exchanges.

Background

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov stated that Ukraine and Russia agreed during the second round of negotiations in Istanbul on June 2 to exchange all severely wounded and critically ill prisoners of war, as well as all soldiers aged 18 to 25.

The parties agreed to focus not on numbers but on specific categories of prisoners of war for exchange in an "all for all" format.

Additionally, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to return 6,000 bodies of deceased soldiers from each side. Ukraine also provided Russia with a list of several hundred children who were abducted to Russia.

During the first round of negotiations in Istanbul on May 16, the delegations of Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange prisoners of war in a "thousand for thousand" format. This exchange took place in three stages from May 23 to 25.

This was the 65th exchange of prisoners of war since the beginning of the full-scale war and the sixth this year. In total, 5,757 Ukrainians have been released since March 2022. Another 536 Ukrainians were returned outside of exchanges.