"Eight stages of a major exchange. Since the beginning of June, hundreds of our people have returned home," Zelensky wrote on the social media platform X.
The exchange was agreed during the second round of Ukraine-Russia negotiations held in Istanbul on June 2, with Turkey acting as an intermediary.
The sides reportedly arranged to swap all severely ill prisoners of war and those under the age of 25, as well as to exchange the bodies of fallen soldiers on a 6,000-for-6,000 basis.
Zelensky said the latest group of returnees includes defenders of Mariupol and servicemen who fought across several frontline regions, including Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv and Kyiv.
"The wounded, the severely ill. Those who had been considered missing in action. Most of them had been in captivity since 2022. And not only military personnel – Ukraine has also brought home civilians," he wrote.
Zelensky did not specify how many Ukrainians were released in the latest exchange.
A representative of Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War told PAP earlier that figures would be made public once the process was complete.
"We continue this work and will carry on until we bring everyone back – without exception," the president said.
(ał)
Source: PAP