Ukraine negotiates the exchange of 169 National Guard servicemen who were captured at Chornobyl nuclear power plant, Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky said.

"Chornobyl is a tragic page in our history. We, unfortunately, must state that 169 National Guard servicemen were captured there. Today, according to our information, some of them are on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, some in Russia... Negotiations on their exchange are underway. But we understand that this will be possible only after the end of the active phase of hostilities," the interior minister said.

Monastyrsky also informed that the captured National Guardsmen were first kept in the dungeon "without light, without the ability to communicate normally."

"All means of communication were confiscated from them when they were there. And then they were taken away. Unfortunately, I can't say what their fate is," he said.