With the help of Turkey, Ukraine and Russia have exchanged a total of 270 prisoners of war, including ten foreign prisoners of war, Ukrainian authorities say. – We have freed 215 people, says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s chief of staff Andriy Jermak in an announcement on Ukrainian television. Russia has received 55 prisoners of war, among them former Ukrainian pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk, who is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and accused of high treason. Zelenskyy states this in his daily video speech. The prisoner exchange will be the largest between the parties since Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February. Turkey Zelenskyy says five commanders, including leaders who defended the Azovstal steelworks in the port city of Mariupol for several weeks, have been sent to Turkey as part of the exchange deal. The agreement had been well prepared in advance and concluded with the help of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The released prisoners of war will remain in Turkey, where they are safe, until the war ends, according to Zelenskyj. Wednesday’s announcement came a day after Erdogan told US television that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to exchange 200 prisoners of war. Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky (left) talks with Denys Prokopenko of the Azov Regiment (right). Photo: Ukrainian Interior Ministry Press Office / AP Foreign prisoners of war Earlier on Wednesday, it became known that ten foreign prisoners of war had been sent from Russia to Saudi Arabia. These were part of the exchange agreement, says Zelenskyj. Five of these ten prisoners of war come from Great Britain, and two come from the United States. In addition, one comes from Sweden, one from Morocco and one from Croatia. – Saudi Arabia is preparing procedures for them to have a safe journey home to their respective countries, said a statement from the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday. British Prime Minister Liz Truss was early on to thank Ukraine and Saudi Arabia for their assistance in the extradition. On Twitter, Truss writes that she is happy about the news of the releases. Captured in Eastern Ukraine Later, the US thanked both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for facilitating the release of these ten prisoners of war. The two Americans were reported missing when they came under heavy fire in the Kharkiv region in north-east Ukraine, near the border with Russia, on 9 June. Both had gone to Ukraine on their own. There they became friends because both were from Alabama, says a joint statement from their families. The prisoners of war from Britain and Sweden were all captured by Russian-backed separatists and Russians in Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, according to Truss and Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde. – Bragd UN Secretary-General António Guterres warmly welcomes the news of the exchange of over 250 prisoners of war, says a statement issued by Guterres’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric. – This is no small feat, but far more remains to be done to alleviate the suffering that the war in Ukraine has caused. He praises the efforts of both parties, writes Dujarric. Dujarric states that Guterres will continue to support all future attempts to exchange prisoners of war. – The Secretary-General reiterates the need for full respect for international law, including international humanitarian law, when it comes to the treatment of prisoners of war, writes Dujarric further.
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270 prisoners of war exchanged between Russia and Ukraine – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
