Zelenskyy reveals covert prisoner exchanges with Russia to free captured soldiers outside public glare
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Prisoner-of-war exchanges with Russia have not stopped, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with the Associated Press, the full version of which was published by the press service of the President’s Office on Dec. 2.
These swaps are often not made public, and sometimes they occur right on the battlefield, the president said.
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“We are exchanging. We fill our exchange fund (with Russians), and then swaps take place. Very often we exchange prisoners of war not 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, we exchange them. It happens in various ways.”
"The commanders have orders for all of this, and they know what to do," he added.
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Over the past six months, Ukraine has managed to return about 100 of its military from Russian captivity, and several thousand since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. Several thousand more are still in captivity, Zelenskyy said.
He said that "Ukraine will fight for each and every one of them."
The last public exchange of prisoners of war between Ukraine and Russia took place in early August this year. At that time Ukraine returned 22 of its soldiers.
As of mid-November, 4,337 Ukrainians were officially confirmed to be held in Russian captivity, including 3,574 soldiers and 763 civilians.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
