The Russian Federation's statements regarding the exchange of prisoners of war and the bodies of the dead are not true. The Russian side is dragging out the process and playing dirty games.
Points of attention
- Russia is accused of delaying the exchange of prisoners of war and repatriating the bodies of the dead, violating agreed agreements.
- Despite agreed upon processes, Russia has been accused of resorting to unilateral actions and manipulations in the prisoner exchange and body repatriation process.
- Ukraine submitted lists for exchange following Istanbul agreements, but Russia's response did not align with the agreed approach, causing further delays.
Russia delays prisoner exchange process
This was reported by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
Today's statements by the Russian side do not correspond to reality and previous agreements regarding either the exchange of prisoners or the repatriation of bodies. Over the past week, teams from both sides have been working in two directions — the repatriation of the bodies of the fallen servicemen and the exchange of prisoners.
Regarding the exchange of prisoners: Ukraine submitted lists for exchange, formed in accordance with the Istanbul agreements, but the lists transferred to the Russian Federation do not correspond to the agreed approach. Therefore, according to the Coordination Staff, Ukraine has provided relevant comments and is awaiting the next step from the Russian Federation.
Regarding the repatriation of the bodies: an agreement on the exchange was indeed reached between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, but its date was not agreed upon. Instead of consistently implementing the agreed algorithm, Russia resorted to unilateral actions that were not agreed upon within the framework of the joint process, the Coordination Headquarters emphasized.
Unfortunately, instead of a constructive dialogue, we are once again faced with manipulation and attempts to use sensitive humanitarian topics for informational purposes. We are interested in a real result — the return of our prisoners and the bodies of the dead, and are ready to work further for this within the framework of the agreements.
They also called on Russia to stop playing dirty games, return to constructive work, and clearly implement the agreements in the coming days.
Recall that during the second round of negotiations in Istanbul, Ukraine and the Russian Federation agreed to exchange the bodies of the dead according to the formula "6,000 for 6,000" and exchange seriously ill, wounded and young prisoners of war. President Volodymyr Zelenkyi expected that the first stage of the exchange could take place this weekend, as Russia agreed to hand over 500 people.
However, on June 7, the head of the Russian negotiating team, Volodymyr Medinsky, accused Ukraine of allegedly postponing the prisoner exchange. He also stated that Russia had allegedly already delivered more than 1,000 bodies of dead Ukrainian soldiers to the exchange site.
