“I fully support this. Let’s do it,” said the HUR chief.
“There is one small thing left to do – to convince Russia.”
Read also: Ukrainian border guards show new touching video from recent POW exchange
At the same time, Budanov does not see any interest from Russian side in such an exchange.
He also noted that the central mediator in exchange of prisoners of war is currently not Türkiye, but the United Arab Emirates.
Read also: Ukrainian coordinator explains prisoner swap rationale, says many Russian POWs were convicts
Pope Francis called on Russia and Ukraine to exchange prisoners under the “all for all” scheme in his Easter address on March 31.
Process of exchange of prisoners of war
Last prisoner exchange took place on Feb. 8. Ukraine returned 49 soldiers of the National Guard of Ukraine, 25 border guards, 26 servicemen of Armed Forces of Ukraine, including 11 members of territorial guard.
Prisoner exchange on Jan. 3, was the largest since the beginning of Russian invasion. Ukraine returned home 230 citizens, including 213 soldiers and sergeants, 11 officers, and six civilians. Among them were some Azovstal defenders.
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That exchange took place after a very long break. The previous one took place on Aug. 7, when 22 soldiers returned home.
UN mission recorded execution of 32 captured Ukrainian soldiers between Dec. 1, and Feb. 29. According to their data, this is significantly more than in any of the previous periods.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Section: Nation
Author: Владислав Литнарович
