Russia’s top negotiator in talks with Ukraine, Vladimir Medinsky charged today that the Kiev regime has reneged on the prisoner exchange agreed to by both sides at the June 2 talks in Istanbul. “On June 6, in full accordance with the Istanbul agreements, the Russian side launched a humanitarian initiative to transfer 6,000 bodies of fallen Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel to Ukraine, and to exchange all wounded and severely ill prisoners of war, as well as those aged under 25.”
A truck convoy carrying the remains of 1,212 Ukrainian soldiers who died in combat arrived at the designated point at the border with Ukraine, along with a contact group from the Russian Defense Ministry, but their Ukrainian contacts were nowhere to be found, Medinsky reported. The Ukrainian side “has unexpectedly postponed both the repatriation of bodies and the prisoner exchange for an unspecified period” and the explanations they provided “have been inconsistent and unclear,” he said.
“We call on Kiev to strictly adhere to the schedule and agreements reached, and to start the exchange process right away,” Medinsky said.
