Today, one of the largest exchanges of prisoners of war between Ukraine and Russia took place, marked by President Vladimir Zelensky as a significant step towards resolving the conflict. According to him, this exchange was made possible by the release of more than 200 Ukrainians in Russian captivity.
The President noted that both servicemen and civilian citizens who became oppressed during a full -scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine were released. In particular, Zelensky emphasized the importance of liberation of the military who defended Mariupol and Azovstal.
The President expressed his gratitude to the whole team working to liberate Ukrainian prisoners, including the names of Budanov, Yermak, Usov, Kid and Klimenko. He also expressed gratitude to the soldiers who were actively involved in the detention of Russian invaders and replenishment of the exchange fund.
"The more Russians are captured, the more effective will be negotiations on exchanges," Zelensky said.
According to the President, Ukraine uses any opportunity to exchange and raises the issue of returning prisoners at every international meeting. He stressed that, despite some pause in exchanges, negotiations on exchanges did not stop.
Earlier, in mid -November, Petro Yatsenko, a representative of the coordination headquarters on the management of prisoners of war, reported that Russia has temporarily frozen the exchange process, but negotiations continue.
It should be noted that the latter exchange took place in August 2023, and now Ukraine seeks to expand its scale, finding the issue of conflict resolution and the return of all Ukrainians who are captured in Russia.
