Ukraine and Russia commence new prisoner of war exchange

Ukraine and Russia have started a new prisoners of war exchange, following the agreement reached at the second round of direct talks in Istanbul last Monday. Kyiv and Moscow agreed that the exchange would include young soldiers under 25 years old and those severely ill.

Ukraine and Russia have started a new prisoner of war exchange, following the agreement reached at the second round of direct talks in Istanbul last Monday."Ukrainians are coming home from Russian captivity," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement. "Today the exchange began and will continue in several stages over the coming days. Among those being returned now are wounded and severely wounded prisoners, as well as those under 25," Zelenskyy added.Russia’s Defence Ministry confirmed the return of the first group of Russian POWs as well, without providing details on the swapped soldiers.Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said that the first group of released prisoners includes personnel from Ukraine's navy, ground forces, air force, national guard, border guard service, territorial defence, and special transport service.Among those returned on Monday are the defenders of Mariupol, who have spent over three years in Russian captivity. "Most of those returned were captured in the first days of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022," Ukraine’s ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said."We warmly welcome all who can now breathe the air of their homeland after years of captivity," Lubinets added. "Our team shares in the joy of the families who received that precious and long-awaited call."Kyiv didn’t disclose the total number of POWs returned on Monday, citing security reasons.A few days ago, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine wanted to bring home 500 prisoners in the POW swap on Saturday and Sunday, which ultimately did not take place.Returning the bodies of fallen soldiersKyiv and Moscow agreed that the exchange would include young soldiers under 25 years old, the severely wounded and the seriously ill. The sides have also agreed to exchange the bodies of the fallen servicepeople.On Sunday, Russia accused Ukraine of postponing the swap and failing to respect the agreement.Moscow said that the trains carrying the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers were due to depart towards the Ukrainian border, accusing Kyiv of "not collecting them".Russia’s Lieutenant General Aleksandr Zorin told the state-run TASS news agency the transfer of “more than 6,000 (Ukrainian) bodies” had been agreed during the talks in Turkey.Kyiv categorically denied the accusations. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian Defenсe Intelligence, said that Ukraine was strictly adhering to the agreements reached at the second round of talks in Istanbul.Budanov stated that the start of "repatriation measures" was scheduled to take place next week, which he claims the Russian side informed him of a few days ago.In his Sunday address, Zelenskyy accused Russia of "playing a dirty political and information game" on the agreed POW exchange.Kyiv says it has brought back over 5,000 prisoners of war in a series of exchanges since March.Ukraine continues to offer Russia an "all-for-all" swap — a proposal Moscow has so far rejected.