Russia and Ukraine have started exchanging detainees of war under an offer reached throughout last weeks peace talks in Turkey, with Moscow saying the first stage includes the return of younger soldiers.During settlements in Istanbul last Monday, both sides accepted release all injured soldiers and caught soldiers under the age of 25 more than 1,000 people on each side.
They likewise promised to exchange the bodies of 6,000 fallen soldiers each.In accordance with Russian-Ukrainian agreements, the very first group of Russian servicemen under the age of 25 was returned from the area managed by the Kyiv regime, Russias Defense Ministry stated Monday on Telegram.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky validated the exchange on X, stating it will continue in several stages over the coming days.Neither side divulged the variety of soldiers associated with the initial swap, but Russia said it had actually returned a comparable number of Ukrainian soldiers.
Russian lead negotiator Vladimir Medinsky stated Saturday that Moscow had submitted a list of 640 Ukrainian POWs for release.Russias Defense Ministry stated its returned soldiers are going through psychological health and medical treatment in Belarus before being sent out home for further care.Zelensky explained the exchange as rather intricate, with numerous delicate information, adding that settlements are continuing virtually every day.
The Kremlin stated earlier on Monday it was prepared to follow through on the agreements, while implicating Ukraine of stopping working to satisfy its obligations.On Saturday, Russias Defense Ministry accused Kyiv of not setting a date for the POW swap.
Ukraine, in its turn, implicated Moscow of dirty games and not sticking to the agreed terms.Medinsky declared Ukraine did not show up to collect the bodies of its fallen soldiers.
Ukraines Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said no date had actually been agreed which the list of names Russia provided did not match the terms of the contract.