Even before the start of regular prisoner of war exchanges, Ukraine unilaterally handed over two captured snipers to Russia. This was reported by State Duma deputy Shamsail Saraliev in an interview with military correspondent Semyon Pegov, published in the WarGonzo Telegram channel.
According to the parliamentarian, the transfer of fighters took place on June 15, 2022, on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border. Saraliev personally participated in negotiations with Ukrainian representatives responsible for prisoner of war issues.
“This was a gratuitous gesture on the part of Kyiv, made in the hope of continuing the dialogue. No exchange took place,” the deputy emphasized.
As military correspondent Pegov notes, this case was unique in the history of the conflict. Information about the return of the snipers was not advertised, but became known through chats of mothers of military personnel.
“After that, a stream of requests poured into us. At that time, Ukraine already had hundreds of our prisoners, according to my interlocutors from among the military leadership,” Saraliev said.
Russia and Ukraine held another stage of prisoner exchange on Thursday, June 26.
Earlier, Ukraine spoke about the possibility of lowering the mobilization age to 18 years.