Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners under 25 years old

RT reported that in a statement on its official Telegram channel on June 9, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the first group of Russian servicemen under the age of 25 who were returned from Ukraine are receiving the necessary medical and psychological support in Belarus before being sent home.

Russia and Ukraine conducted a prisoner exchange on June 9. Photo: Telegram.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not specify the exact number of prisoners it received from Ukraine in this latest exchange but said it had returned an equivalent number to Kiev.

Previously, during direct negotiations in Istanbul (Türkiye) on June 2, Moscow and Kiev agreed to exchange prisoners of war, including soldiers who were seriously wounded, sick, and under 25 years old.

Russia also decided to unilaterally return the remains of more than 6,000 Ukrainian soldiers killed in action to Kiev. On June 7, the first bodies of 1,212 Ukrainian soldiers were transported by special trucks to the exchange area on the border between the two countries. However, the Ukrainian side did not appear at the exchange location.

Ukrainian officials explained the refusal by saying they had not yet agreed on a transfer date and that Moscow was using the humanitarian issue for information purposes.

Meanwhile, Moscow has criticized Kiev for refusing to take back the bodies. Dmitry Belik, a member of the Russian parliament ’s international affairs committee, told RT that one of the reasons Kiev is refusing to take back the bodies of the soldiers could be that Ukraine does not want to compensate their families.

The administration of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that the families of dead Ukrainian soldiers can apply for a one-time compensation of about $367,000.

>>> Readers are invited to watch a video about the second round of direct Russia-Ukraine negotiations in Istanbul