Russia and Ukraine conduct prisoner swap of under 25s

Russia and Ukraine have conducted another prisoner exchange, swapping soldiers who are under 25 years of age, RT reported citing Russia’s Defense Ministry. 

In a statement on it’s official Telegram channel, the Defense Ministry reported that the sides have exchanged the first groups of servicemen in similar numbers, according to RT.

Moscow and Kiev had agreed to exchange certain categories of captives, including those who are seriously injured, ill, or are under the age of 25, during last week’s round of direct negotiations in Istanbul, RT reported.

Russia also announced that it would return the bodies of over 6,000 Ukrainian soldiers in a “unilateral humanitarian gesture.” On Saturday, Moscow tried to transfer 1,212 bodies to the Ukrainian side, but Kiev’s representatives failed to show up at the exchange point. Ukrainian officials have explained the refusal by claiming that they hadn’t agreed on the date of the transfer and have accused Moscow of using “humanitarian issues for informational purposes.”