After the Turkish president announced the exchange of prisoners with Russia, Ukraine thanked Turkey for its assistance late on Wednesday.
“We are returning our citizens. The conversation just ended. There are 215 positive news stories today. 215!” In a recent video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
They included five Ukrainian commanders, according to him, “for whom we had to conduct the largest, longest, and most challenging fight. The worst was being threatened against them. Five superhumans
“Ukraine and Turkey reached an understanding whereby our five commanders who are being freed from captivity will remain in complete safety, in comfortable surroundings, and under the personal protection of the President of Turkey until the end of the war. I spoke about this with (Turkish) President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan. But we will give their families a chance to see them, said Zelenskyy.
He claimed that Ukraine released 55 Russian soldiers in return for the five commanders.
According to the Ukrainian president, 10 foreign nationals were among the 215 prisoners who were released.
Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian Presidency Office, said in a statement that 108 soldiers from the “Azov” regiment were among those freed.
The largest prisoner exchange since February 24 was this one. Now that our defenders have been freed from captivity, a healing and treatment process is in store for them, said Yermak.
Earlier, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that 200 prisoners had been exchanged between the two countries as a result of Turkish mediation and diplomatic talks with the two leaders.
The prisoner exchange facilitated by Turkey, according to Erdogan, was a “important step” toward putting an end to the two nations’ war, he told reporters in New York City.