Ukraine and Russia trade 49 prisoners in border exchange
On Friday, at the border with Belarus, there was the 56th exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and Russia. The Ukrainian side handed over 49 prisoners to the Russian side. In response, Russia handed over the same number of prisoners to Ukraine, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed.
Russian prisoners arrived at one of the Ukrainian-Belarusian border crossings by bus and minibus. Ambulances accompanied the convoy, tasked with taking care of the Ukrainian prisoners returning from Belarus. Ukrainian service and military formation vehicles were also involved in the exchange process.
Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Ukrainian military intelligence HUR, said in an interview with PAP that he could not confirm that the Russians exchanged on Friday were soldiers captured during the operations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Russian Kursk region. He explained, however, that "they are soldiers of the enemy army, the army of the aggressor state."
Challenging negotiations
Asked about the course of negotiations with Russia regarding the exchange of prisoners, Yusov revealed their difficult nature. He pointed out that Ukraine cannot rely on the support of international institutions established for this purpose.
The talks about the exchange are tough because the aggressor state usually ignores international humanitarian law and often does not adhere to the Geneva Conventions. These talks are bilateral because the HUR representative stated that the global institutions that are supposed to handle or support them simply do not do so.
These talks always continue, regardless of the situation and how sharp public statements might be. The work on subsequent exchanges continues all the time — he added.
