As part of the agreement with russia on the exchange of 1,000 for 1,000 prisoners, Ukraine returned 390 people on Friday, May 23. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced this on the Telegram channel, Ukrainian News Agency reports.
"We are returning our people home. The first part of the agreement on the exchange of 1,000 for 1,000 has been implemented. This agreement was reached at a meeting in Turkey, and it is important to fully implement it. Today - 390 people. Saturday and Sunday - we expect the exchange to continue," he said.
Zelenskyy stressed that it is very important to return all those who are in captivity, Ukraine will continue diplomatic work to make such steps possible.
He also noted that for the exchange, the Ukrainian side checks every last name, information on each person.
Head of the President’s Office Andrii Yermak clarified that among the 390 liberated Ukrainians, 270 are military and 120 are civilians. Among those who were returned are soldiers who have been in captivity since 2022.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported on the Telegram channel that 270 Defenders are returning home - these are servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in particular the Navy, the Assault Troops, the Territorial Defense Forces, as well as the National Guard and the State Border Guard Service.
The liberated defenders defended Ukraine in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Kherson Axes, and also participated in battles in the Chernihiv, Sumy and Kyiv Regions.
Among those liberated today are 3 women and 387 men.
In turn, the russian Defense Ministry reported that on May 23, in accordance with the russian-Ukrainian agreements reached on May 16 in Istanbul, 270 russian servicemen and 120 civilians were returned from the territory controlled by the Ukrainian authorities.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, an agreement on the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from the Ukrainian and russian sides was reached at negotiations between Ukraine and russia in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 16.
Earlier, the head of the Defense Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said that the largest exchange of prisoners in the "thousand-for-thousand" format could take place this week.
Who we are: About us, Contacts. How we write news and our principles: Editorial code. We did our best. If you found this valuable – please support us.
To request a correction, please send an email.