Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that since the beginning of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, 5,857 people have been returned from captivity, and another 555 have been returned outside of exchanges. More than a thousand Ukrainian soldiers were returned under the Istanbul agreements, the Head of State noted following a relevant meeting on Monday, writes UNN.
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, a total of 5,857 people have been returned alive from captivity. Another 555 people were returned outside of exchanges. As a result of exchanges within the framework of Istanbul, more than a thousand of our soldiers were returned. We hope to free those civilians who are still being held in Russia.
Today's meeting, according to him, was "with almost everyone in our team who works to free prisoners and help them." "There were representatives of the headquarters, representatives of services involved in exchanges, the Office team, and our people who were released from Russian captivity - defenders from various fronts, including Mariupol, 'Azovites', our paramedic Taira, Leniye Umerova - a civilian whom the occupiers captured in Crimea," Zelenskyy said.
"I am grateful to everyone for this meeting. We honored the memory of the soldiers who died from the terrible terrorist attack in Olenivka. We talked about the most important thing: the return of all our people home, at what stage we are today with exchanges. We do not stop for a single day," the President said.
Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of "continuing exchanges, checking the situation for each name." "Everyone is important. I am grateful to everyone who does their best to make exchanges possible, and to everyone who helps. I also thank our soldiers who replenish the exchange fund for Ukraine," the President noted.