This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“We are returning our people home. The first part of the agreement on the 1,000-for-1,000 exchange has been implemented. This agreement was reached at a meeting in Turkey, and it is important to implement it in full.
Today – 390 people. We expect the exchange to continue on Saturday and Sunday,” the Head of State said.
The President emphasises the importance of returning all those held in Russian captivity. “We are checking every name and information about each person. We will continue our diplomatic work to make such steps possible.”
According to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Ukraine has returned 270 prisoners of war and 120 civilian hostages – three women and 387 men.
The servicemen are from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including the Navy, Airborne Forces, the Territorial Defence Forces, as well as the National Guard and the State Border Guard Service. They were engaged in defence in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya, Kharkiv, Kherson, and also took part in battles in Chernihiv, Sumy, and Kyiv Regions.
- An agreement on the simultaneous release and exchange of 1,000-for-1,000 prisoners was reached between the delegations of Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul on 16 May.