Zelenskyy Unveils Third Phase of Prisoner Exchange: Set to Begin Tomorrow

The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, announced that the third stage of a major prisoner swap will commence tomorrow. It is anticipated this week that around 1,000 Ukrainians currently detained by Russia will be returning to their homeland.

The exchanges continue today. An additional 307 of our fighters have come back home; these include privates and sergeants. They mostly belong to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, with some coming from both the National Guard and the State Border Guard Service,” clarified Zelenskyy.

He mentioned that out of the 273 freed prisoners, many had been detained earlier in 2022 within the Donetsk area. The rest were apprehended across various locations including Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Luhansk regions.

The President stated that during the last two days of discussions, 697 Ukrainians have successfully made their way back home.

“Phase three begins tomorrow. Over the next few days, we must liberate 1,000 of our citizens from captivity. However, our ultimate objective is to release every single individual still detained within Russian borders. This mission falls under the collective duty of our intelligence agencies, diplomatic corps, and government as a whole,” he stressed.

Zelenskyy recognized that the task at hand is challenging, yet he emphasized that it needs to be accomplished.

“I am thankful to all those around the globe who assist us. This really matters to us—that our collaborators, each leader, and every nation—support us in this challenging endeavor,” he ended his statement.

1,000-for-1,000 prisoner swap

On May 16, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations reached an agreement for a prisoner swap involving 1,000-for-1,000 individuals.

Subsequently, it was determined that because of the magnitude of the swap, the procedure would be carried out in multiple phases. The initial exchange happened yesterday, on May 23rd. Each party released 390 individuals, comprising 270 service members and 120 civilians.

Today marked the second day of the exchange, with 307 Ukrainian defenders returning home this time.

To learn more about the exchanges from yesterday and today, check out RBC-Ukraine’s report.