The exchange of prisoners between Moscow and Kiev has begun . The Russian Defense Ministry announced that the first group of Russian prisoners of war under the age of 25 has been repatriated under the agreements reached by the two countries on June 2 in Istanbul, and claims that "a similar number of Ukrainian prisoners of war have been transferred in exchange."
The news was reported by the news agencies Ria Novosti and Tass. The Kremlin, through Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, had assured that Moscow was "ready to implement the agreements reached in Istanbul" between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine, that is, an exchange of prisoners and an exchange of bodies of soldiers killed in the war.
Confirmation of the exchange also came from the Ukrainian president who reassured on Telegram that the Kiev military "are returning home from Russian captivity. Today the exchange began, which will continue in several stages in the coming days. Among the categories of those we are repatriating now are the wounded and seriously wounded, as well as children under 25. The process is quite complicated, there are many delicate details, negotiations continue practically every day"
The hope, Zelensky stressed, is that "the agreements on humanitarian issues reached during the Istanbul meeting will be fully implemented. We are doing our best for the repatriation of everyone. We are working for this at all levels. We must repatriate all those who are prisoners. Thank you to everyone who is helping us."
(Unioneonline/vf)
