Budanov says he hopes for major prisoner swap by Easter

Head of the President’s Office of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov said new prisoner exchanges are being prepared and expressed hope that a major swap would take place by Easter.

"Our joint work continues every day, negotiations are ongoing, and there will be new exchanges. I very much hope that by Easter we will all see a major exchange, and we will do everything necessary for that," he said, addressing participants in the "Together for Return" conference marking the fourth anniversary of the creation of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

Budanov said that more than 70 exchanges had taken place since the Coordination Headquarters began its work.

"Behind each of these returns are months of extremely difficult negotiations and major joint efforts. The president of Ukraine personally keeps this process under control; he is aware of every key issue and every difficult situation. Standing alongside us are our partners, without whom many of these exchanges would have been very difficult to organize, and at times, frankly, almost impossible," he added.

Budanov singled out the United States and the UAE in this regard, saying they had "truly helped in many ways."