The Russian Ministry of Defense said that 9 soldiers returned to Russia as a result of the prisoner exchange with the Ukrainian side.
“As a result of the negotiation process on November 26, 9 Russian soldiers, whose lives were in danger, were returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime,” the ministry said.
According to State Duma deputy Shamsail Saraliyev, we are talking about nine National Guardsmen.
The army will be delivered to Moscow by aircraft belonging to the military transport aviation of the Aerospace Forces for treatment and rehabilitation. According to the Ministry of Defense, the prisoners are provided with the necessary medical and psychological assistance.
The Presidency of Ukraine confirmed the exchange and said that as a result, 12 people, 3 of whom were civilians, were transferred to the Ukrainian side.
“Another prisoner exchange. We managed to get 12 of our people back. Among them are 4 Navy soldiers, two National Guardsmen, border guards, one from the territory defense, and three civilians – a spouse and a man considered missing, ”the head of the office Andriy Yermak wrote in Telegram.
According to him, among the rescued Ukrainians there are those who participated in the defense of Mariupol, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and Snake Island.
“We managed to bring back 98 Ukrainians last week,” he said.
In total, 94 soldiers returned home from captivity from both sides. Moscow also handed over four civilians to Kiev.
Activation of exchanges
This week the military department announced the return of the prisoners: on November 23, 35 people were released, and on the 24 – 50 more.
Ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova released a video of the return of 35 Russian POWs. “Our men have returned home,” she wrote.
The Office of the President of Ukraine returned to Ukraine 20 National Guardsmen, 12 soldiers from the Navy, 10 fighters from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, six border guards, two from the Regional Defense Forces, as part of the 50-50 exchange. .
“It is important that we managed to return 19 defenders of Mariupol, 12 of whom were evacuated from Azovstal, as well as 15 prisoners from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and seven from Snake Island,” said Yermak.
The Russian side did not disclose the composition of the army returning to their homeland.
Denis Pushilin, acting head of the DPR, said on November 25 that a prisoner exchange also took place that day, thus returning nine soldiers, one from the DPR.
On November 26, he wrote on the Telegram channel that “ten released fighters from Makevka, Donetsk, Zugres, Kirovsky, Snezhny have returned home today, met with their relatives and friends.”
“Of the two extreme exchanges that took place the day before, there were only 85 people, we managed to release 10 defenders of the republic who were here today, they have already been reunited with their families,” said DPR Human Rights Commissioner Daria. Morozova.
Meanwhile, State Duma deputy Saraliev said on November 25 that there were no swaps.
“Many relatives of POWs write a personal message asking for a 9-for-9 exchange. Indeed, such an exchange was planned for November 25. According to the information I received from the deputy Telegram channel, the swap did not take place today,” he wrote.
In November, the parties exchanged more than 200 people in total: on November 3, the exchange took place according to the formula “107 to 107”, and on November 10, Kyiv and Moscow returned Leonid Pasechnik, 35 soldiers each. The head of the LPR reported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his speech via video link at the G20 summit, advocated a prisoner exchange with Russia “for all”.
“We can’t wait, so we must unite for one realistic model for the release of prisoners – for all of us,” Zelensky said.
Commenting on the proposal from the president of Ukraine, Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, recommended contacting the Ministry of Defense for opinions on this issue, since “it is they who determine the format and make the necessary contacts for it.”