Ukraine and Russia begin major prisoner exchange in Turkey
Volodymyr Zelensky conveyed on social media that the first phase of the agreement concerning the exchange of prisoners of war has been completed. "We are bringing our people home. The first stage of the "1000-for-1000" exchange agreement has been carried out," he remarked, adding that further exchanges will occur in the coming days.
What do you need to know?
- What happened? Ukraine has regained 390 prisoners of war from Russian captivity under the 1000-for-1000 exchange agreement.
- When did the exchange take place? The first part of the agreement was implemented on Friday, with continuation planned for Saturday and Sunday.
- Where was the agreement reached? The agreement was reached during a meeting in Turkey.
How is the exchange of prisoners taking place?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that under the 1000-for-1000 exchange agreement, Ukraine regained 390 prisoners of war.
"We are bringing our people home. The first stage of the "1000-for-1000" exchange agreement has been carried out. This agreement was reached during the meeting in Türkiye, and it is crucial to implement it in full," Zelensky stated. The exchange is set to continue over the weekend.
"It is very important to return everyone who remains in captivity. We are verifying every surname, every detail about each person. We will continue our diplomatic efforts to make such steps possible," he added in the post.
What does the 1000-for-1000 agreement mean?
The prisoner exchange agreement in the 1000-for-1000 format was reached during a meeting in Turkey. "This agreement was reached during the meeting in Türkiye, and it is crucial to implement it in full," the Ukrainian president added.
Earlier, on 16th May, Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov confirmed the arrangements with Russia.
