CNN
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The exchange of new prisoners between Ukraine and Russia has begun, officials from both countries said on Monday.
The exchange agreed last week during talks in Turkey, as well as detained people under the age of 25 and seriously injured, Ukrainian President Voldymir Zelensky confirmed on Telegram.
It follows a weekend conflict that accused Moscow of maintaining the exchange of Ukraine. This is the claim that Kiev denied it.
“Our people are homes,” Zelensky wrote. “Ukrainians have returned from Russian prisoners of war. The exchange begins today and will continue in several stages for the next few days.”
Among those released are Ukrainian soldiers who defended the city of Mariupol, which was brutal Russian attacks in the first weeks of the war, said the Ukrainian coordination headquarters for the treatment of prisoners.
According to Dmytro Lubinets, the majority of those released have been held captive since 2022.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has also confirmed that the exchange is ongoing. “Russian military personnel are currently in the Republic of Belarus, where they receive the necessary psychological and medical support,” the ministry said.
Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation for peace negotiations with Ukraine, said last week that the exchange will be the largest since the start of the Three Years’ War. He said Russia will transfer the bodies of an unspecified number of wounded soldiers, in addition to the bodies of more than 6,000 killed Ukrainian military personnel.
Monday’s news comes after weekend accusations thrown between both Moscow and Kiev in connection with the exchange.
Russia accused Ukraine of unexpectedly postponing the relocation of the dead Ukrainian soldiers, leaving hundreds of body bags in a refrigerated truck waiting at the exchange point where Kiev said he had agreed.
Ukrainian officials refused to explain the events in Russia and said that both sides were seriously injured on Saturday and agreed to exchange young troops, but no dates had been set for the repatriation of the soldiers’ bodies.
The prisoner exchange was the result of the second set of direct peace negotiations in Istanbul last Monday. The exchange was agreed, but there were no major breakthroughs.
The exchange of prisoners lasts for multiple days and is “very complicated,” so negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will “continue virtually every day,” Zelensky said on Monday.
“We rely on the full implementation of the humanitarian agreements we reached during our meeting in Istanbul. We are doing everything possible to get everyone back. We are working on this at every level,” he added.
