Zelenskyy: We hope to welcome home Ukrainians held captive by Russia soon
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has held a meeting with the team of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, during which they discussed the results of exchanges that have already taken place this year and preparations for the next exchanges.
"We hope that soon we will be able to welcome home Ukrainians who are now in captivity in Russia and in the temporarily occupied territory. The Coordination Headquarters has processed the documents and lists necessary for the exchange, and communication with the Russian side is constantly taking place specifically on such humanitarian issues. We remember all our people who are still in Russian captivity: both military personnel and civilians. Special attention is being paid to people who were captured even before the start of the full-scale invasion," Zelenskyy said on Telegram on Wednesday.
The participants in the meeting also discussed requests from international organizations and work with partners to secure the release of people.
According to the president, it is important to do everything possible to achieve progress on all categories of prisoners, in particular journalists, mayors and community leaders, energy workers, soldiers – Azov fighters, marines, paratroopers and all others for whom the exchange process is especially difficult.
"Our goal is to bring all our people home from captivity. We are verifying all information and checking every surname. It often happens that a person is on the list of missing persons, but we find them in camps in Russia and return them to Ukraine. The work will continue. We will also speak with some leaders of partner countries about additional steps," the head of state said.
