Russia affirms readiness for daily prisoner exchanges, cites Ukrainian reluctance

The Russian Ministry of Defence has reaffirmed its willingness to engage in daily prisoner exchanges with Ukraine, under the agreement reached earlier this month in Istanbul.

The statement underscores Russia’s position that it remains committed to implementing the schedule agreed upon during the June negotiations, Caliber.Az reports per Russian Defence Ministry.

The ministry emphasized that while Moscow is prepared to exchange captured Ukrainian service members for Russian soldiers on a daily basis, Kyiv has yet to demonstrate the same level of readiness.

“The Russian Ministry of Defence confirms its readiness to carry out exchanges of Ukrainian Armed Forces prisoners for Russian servicemen on a daily basis, in line with the schedule agreed upon in Istanbul on June 2 of this year,” the ministry stated.

“Unfortunately, the Ukrainian side is not prepared to conduct exchanges in such an expedited manner,” the statement added.

Russian servicemen are currently situated in the Republic of Belarus, where they are being provided with essential psychological and medical support.

Subsequently, all personnel will be transferred to the Russian Federation to undergo treatment and rehabilitation at medical institutions operated by the country’s Ministry of Defence.

To recall, on June 12, the Russian Ministry of Defence announced the repatriation of an additional contingent of Russian servicemen from Ukrainian captivity, reciprocated by the transfer of a corresponding group of Ukrainian Armed Forces prisoners of war (POW).

Previously, on June 9, the ministry confirmed the return of the initial cohort of Russian servicemen under the age of 25 as part of the ongoing prisoner exchange, with an equivalent number of Ukrainian POWs handed over in return.

The following day, June 10, saw the repatriation of a second group of Russian personnel, accompanied by a reciprocal transfer of Ukrainian detainees.

These exchanges stem from accords brokered in Istanbul on June 2, stipulating an “all-for-all” framework encompassing two primary categories: wounded and critically ill detainees, alongside those under the age of 25.

On June 11, Vladimir Medinsky, aide to the Russian president, disclosed that Russia had transferred 1,212 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers to Kyiv while receiving 27 of its own servicemen’s remains, under the Istanbul agreements.

Earlier, Russian Ministry of Defence declared its readiness to launch an extensive humanitarian operation aimed at repatriating over 6,000 deceased Ukrainian servicemen.

By Vafa Guliyeva