Russia and Ukraine exchange sick and wounded POWs after Turkey peace talks

KYIV: Russia and Ukraine said they exchanged an unspecified number of sick and wounded prisoners of war on Tuesday under an agreement reached at peace talks last week in Turkey.

The handover took place after an initial swap of prisoners under the age of 25 was conducted on Monday.

“Today marks the first stage of the return of our seriously wounded and injured soldiers from Russian captivity. All of them require immediate medical attention. This is an important humanitarian act,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram, adding that exchanges would continue.

“We are doing everything to find and bring back everyone who is in captivity,” he said.

An official Ukrainian video showed smiling prisoners of war leaving a bus at an undisclosed location, wrapped in flags of Ukraine or of their units. Many chanted “Glory to Ukraine.”

In a statement, Ukrainian military intelligence said most of the freed soldiers had serious injuries and illnesses including amputations, infections and trauma.

It also said that due to security considerations, the exact number of those released would be announced only after the exchange process was completed.

The defence ministry in Moscow said the Russians freed in the latest handover were currently in Belarus, which borders both the warring countries, and would be returned to Russia for medical treatment and rehabilitation.

Prisoner exchanges have been the only tangible result so far of peace talks between the two sides in Turkey, which resumed last month after a gap of more than three years but have failed to make progress towards a ceasefire. A thousand captives on each side were traded in a swap last month, the biggest of the war so far.

At last week’s meeting, the two sides also agreed to hand over the bodies of thousands of dead soldiers, but this transfer has yet to take place.