We exchange them right on the battlefield: Zelensky said that prisoner exchanges are often not very public
Kyiv • UNN
Zelenskyy has revealed that Ukraine often conducts non-public prisoner exchanges with Russia on the battlefield, and hundreds of people have been repatriated in the past six months. Although Russia has stopped exchanges since the summer, Ukraine continues to push for regular exchanges of wounded soldiers.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that very often the exchange of prisoners of war with Russia is not very public, sometimes the exchange takes place right on the battlefield. He said this in an interview with the Associated Press, according to a UNN correspondent .
Over the past six months, not many (prisoners of war - ed.) have been returned. During all this time, several thousand people have been returned and several thousand more are in captivity
The President emphasized that Ukraine is fighting for every prisoner of war.
"We are filling up the exchange fund, in this sense it is easier than with deported children, because here we fill up the prisoners and then exchange them. Very often, we do not make exchanges so loudly, not so publicly. Frankly speaking, we exchange them right on the battlefield, when we have 10 of their prisoners, and they have a few of our guys, and we exchange them, it happens in different ways. So there are not only global exchanges, there are also local ones. The commanders have orders for all this, they know what to do", Zelensky said.
Addendum
The head of the press service of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War in Ukraine, Petro Yatsenko, statedthat since the summer, Russia has actually frozen the exchange of prisoners of war. The reason may be Russia's attempt to undermine Ukrainian society in this way.
The Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman continues to insist that Russia create a joint mixed medical commission, as repatriation of wounded and seriously ill soldiers should be carried out on a regular basis. The Office is trying to achieve international pressure on Russia.
