Live updates: Russia’s war in Ukraine
Pro-Kremlin Ukrainian opposition politician Viktor Medvedchuk, who was captured back in April, is being exchanged with Russia as part of a prisoner swap, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelenskyi said 200 Ukrainian prisoners have returned home in exchange for Medvedevchuk.
“At first we were offered to return 50 of our people in exchange for one in the detention center of the Security Service of Ukraine. We talked, we insisted. The number of 50 increased,” Zelinsky said during his night. 200 done.” Address
Vasyl Malyuk, acting head of the Ukrainian Security Service, said Medvedevchuk “is not only the godfather of Putin’s child, but we also have a document as a traitor.”
“Additionally, while working on the Medvedchuk case, we have neutralized multiple agent networks, detained multiple traitors, and obtained valuable information that we are using for counterintelligence. are and will take us closer to our victory,” Maliuk added.
According to Zelensky, five Ukrainian commanders were involved in the prisoner exchange, as were 55 prisoners to be sent to Russia.
It is unclear whether the 55 prisoners are all Russian or pro-Russian, but Zelensky described them as people who “fought against Ukraine, and who betrayed Ukraine.”
A total of 215 prisoners of war, including ten foreign prisoners, have been released as part of the exchange of prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine, according to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak.
Among those freed from captivity today are 108 Azov fighters and other formations,” Yermak said. The fighters from the controversial Azov Battalion, part of Ukraine’s National Guard, which Russia has previously called neo-Nazis.
Yermak also said that 10 foreigners were among the converts.
“Based on requests from our international partners, we have also returned 10 foreign guards to Ukraine. These are representatives of the countries that support us the most – the United States, Great Britain, Croatia, Sweden. And Morocco,” Yermak said. .
“They are safe and have been released from prison. We are currently in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. From here we have planned a more secure transition to their countries with our partners,” said Rustam Umarov, head of the State Property Fund. gone.” Yermak added.
The Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (CHTPW), a government agency under Defense Intelligence, said five Britons and two Americans were among the 10 foreign detainees.
“It should be noted that the release of foreign soldiers from captivity has taken place as part of the largest exchange since the full-scale invasion of Russia,” the CHTPW said on Thursday.
“The released heroes are awaiting rehabilitation and adaptation; they will get the necessary treatment,” CHTPW added.