UN chief calls on Ukraine and russia to have all-for-all prisoner exchange

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on russia and Ukraine to exchange prisoners in the all-for-all format.

He said this in an interview with the russian state news agency.

"The exchange of prisoners is a positive thing. It reduces the suffering of the prisoners themselves and the suffering of their families. The position I was expressing is that ideally, there would be an all-for-all exchange to remove this drama from the lives of so many people," said Guterres.

Answering whether the UN is ready to facilitate such an exchange, the Secretary-General clarified that his organization usually does not participate in the swap of prisoners—"this is the prerogative of the ICRC." "Of course, we would like russia and Ukraine to be able to reach the widest possible agreement on this," Guterres added.

As UNIAN reported earlier, experts said that Ukraine, during an active counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region, replenished the exchange fund with russian officers, which could be exchanged for the defenders of Azovstal. However, the exact figures for prisoners cannot be named so far.

After the full-scale war between russia and Ukraine started, prisoners were exchanged several times.

On June 29, Ukraine carried out its biggest exchange of prisoners of war since russia invaded, securing the release of 144 of its soldiers, including 95 who defended Mariupol's steelworkers.

Ukraine's military intelligence agency reported that most Ukrainians were severely wounded, suffering from gunshot and shrapnel wounds, blast traumas, burns, fractured bones, and amputated limbs.

Read Rubryka's timeline of war: current news on Ukraine's defense against russia's aggression.