Ukraine holds meeting to prepare largest prisoner swap with Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Thursday that he held a meeting to prepare for a 1,000 for 1,000 prisoner exchange with Russia.

In a Telegram post following the meeting, Zelensky said Defense Minister Rustem Umerov is overseeing the implementation of the deal on the captives swap reached in Türkiye's Istanbul on May 16.

He noted that multiple Ukrainian agencies, including the Presidential Office, the Defense Intelligence, and the Security Service, are involved in the exchange process.

"We are clarifying the details for each individual included on the lists submitted by the Russian side," Zelensky said.

He stressed that the return of Ukrainians held in Russian captivity remains one of the country's top priorities.

Since March 2022, Ukraine and Russia have carried out 64 prisoner exchanges, under which more than 4,700 Ukrainians have been released.