Russian Ministry of Defense also confirmed the action, stating that it was part of the ‘agreements signed in Istanbul on June 2’
The Ukrainian President, said on Monday (9) that a new exchange of prisoners with it is underway and said that the operation will be performed in several stages throughout the “next days”, without revealing how many soldiers will be exchanged. “An exchange has begun today and will continue in several steps over the next few days,” Zelensky said on social networks, specifying that “negotiations continue virtually every day.” The agreement to exchange prisoners of war and repact bodies of the soldiers killed in the war was the only concrete result of the latest peace negotiations. The dialogues so far failed to end the conflict that began with the Ukraine invasion of Russia in February 2022. Russia repeatedly rejected the appeals for an unconditional ceasefire and to end the war requires unacceptable conditions for.
“Among those we are bringing back now are the injured, the seriously injured and under 25,” said Zelensky. The Russian Ministry of Defense also confirmed the exchange, stating that it was part of the “agreements signed in Istanbul on June 2”. The Turkish city hosted negotiations between the two parts, in which Kiev and Moscow stated that more than 1,000 soldiers would be exchanged. The exchange of prisoners, however, seemed to be at risk over the weekend, when Russia and Ukraine accused each other to delay and obstruct it.
On Sunday, Zelensky criticized Russia for his “dirty and political game” and not adhering to the agreed parameters: free all detained soldiers who were sick, injured or under 25 years. Russia, however, claimed that Kiev refused to return the bodies of the dead soldiers, 1,200 of them in cooled trucks near the border.
*With information from AFP
Posted by Fernando Dias
