Ukraine and Russia carried out another exchange of prisoners of war as agreed in the 2 June Istanbul talks. Kyiv has not revealed how many Ukrainian defenders have been exchanged at each stage, saying only that the Thursday swap focused on severely wounded soldiers.
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Ukraine and Russia carried out another exchange of prisoners of war on Thursday, based on the Istanbul deal of 2 June.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the latest swap focused on "severely wounded and seriously ill warriors."
Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of the POW issued a statement, saying "this is part of a major exchange that continues in phases."
"These soldiers require urgent medical care and will receive full assistance, including psychological rehabilitation and financial compensation for their time in captivity," the coordination HQ said.
Kyiv is not revealing how many Ukrainian defenders have been exchanged at each stage. Ukrainian authorities are expected to release this information once the exchange is completed.
Kyiv announced that many of the severely injured soldiers who had returned home on Thursday had served in combat operations across Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Some of the returned soldiers have been considered "missing" while many have been in Russian captivity for over three years.
Kyiv and Moscow have been carrying out prisoner-of-war swaps for the last couple of days. During the Istanbul talks, the sides have agreed to exchange young soldiers under 25 and the severely injured and sick POWs.
They have also agreed to repatriate the bodies of the soldiers.
On Wednesday, Ukraine said it brought back the bodies of 1,212 fallen defenders. The repatriation was carried out through a coordinated effort involving the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Armed Forces, the Interior Ministry, the Ombudsman's Office, the State Emergency Service, and other national security and defence institutions.
The International Committee of the Red Cross also supported the operation.
Officials emphasised that investigative and forensic teams from the Interior Ministry and the Health Ministry are working to identify the bodies in the shortest possible time.
Vladimir Medinsky, aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the head of the Russian delegation at the Istanbul talks, claimed that Ukraine released the remains of 27 Russian service members.
The Ukrainian side did not disclose how many Russian bodies were handed over to Moscow.
After the meeting in Turkey on 2 June, Medinsky said that Russia would transfer 6,000 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers and officers.