Ukraine has enough detainees to sustain future prisoner swaps – Coordination HQ
global.espreso.tv
Sun, 20 Jul 2025 18:57:00 +0300

Spokesperson for the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Petro Yatsenko, said this on Espreso TV.“We need to understand that the work of preparing exchanges — both those that have already taken place and those, I hope, that will continue to happen — has become possible thanks to the fact that we, as the Coordination Headquarters, under the directive of the President of Ukraine, carry out extensive work. We collect information, find data about our people who are held captive, including civilians,” he said.Yatsenko added that some exchanges would have happened anyway, because even before the Istanbul agreements this year, prisoner swaps were occurring.“But thanks to these agreements, we managed to truly free a large number of people, and the process continues. All agencies involved in organizing the exchange process are working and will continue to work no matter what happens. We have an exchange fund. Relatives often ask us: ‘Do you still have enough Russian prisoners to continue exchanges?’” the spokesperson emphasized.He noted that five camps currently hold Russian prisoners of war.“According to the Third Geneva Convention, they are being held there. And we have a sufficient exchange fund to continue these swaps and bring our people back from those horrific conditions,” Yatsenko concluded.On July 4, a prisoner exchange took place between Russia and Ukraine. This was another stage of the exchange under the Istanbul agreements. A group of defenders was returned from Russian captivity, including those categorized as “wounded and seriously ill,” as well as those “under the age of 25.”
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