Ukraine stops inmate exchange
(MENAFN) Ukraine has postponed a scheduled prisoner exchange with Russia, according to a statement by Russian Lieutenant General Alexander Zorin, representing the Defense Ministry. The agreement, which also included the return of over 6,000 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers, remains unfulfilled as Kiev has yet to set a date, Zorin said on Saturday.
The plan, finalized during peace talks in Istanbul, involved exchanging 1,200 prisoners from each side—focusing on the wounded, the critically ill, and those under 25—and repatriating the remains of fallen soldiers. Russia has already delivered one convoy carrying 1,212 bodies to the designated exchange site, and four more convoys, each transporting around 1,200 sets of remains, are ready for handover.
Zorin reiterated that Moscow is fully committed to fulfilling the terms agreed upon in Istanbul and is prepared to proceed with both the body transfer and prisoner swap.
Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky also criticized Ukraine’s failure to accept the remains, saying Kiev gave “strange reasons” for not showing up at the exchange location.
In response, Ukraine rejected Russia’s version of events, claiming that both sides had been working on the logistics throughout the past week. Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War accused Moscow of using the humanitarian issue for political manipulation. Ukrainian media later reported that the exchange had been pushed to the following week, though Zorin noted that Russia is still awaiting official confirmation from Kiev.
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