Russia and Ukraine conducted the first stage of a new prisoner exchange

Young Russian prisoners of war returned home under the Istanbul agreements

As reported by TUT.AZ, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the return of the first group of Russian prisoners of war under the age of 25 from territory controlled by Kyiv.

The exact number of participants in the exchange is not disclosed in the message.

"The first group of Russian servicemen under the age of 25 has been returned. In exchange, a similar number of AFU prisoners of war was transferred," the defense ministry's statement says.

Currently, the freed Russian servicemen are on the territory of Belarus, where they are being provided with necessary psychological and medical assistance. In the near future, they will be transported to Russia for treatment and rehabilitation in medical facilities of the Ministry of Defense.

Recall that during negotiations in Istanbul, the parties reached an agreement on the largest prisoner exchange since the beginning of hostilities: severely ill and severely wounded, as well as military personnel under 25 years of age, will be exchanged in an "all for all" format.

They also agreed on the exchange of bodies of fallen soldiers in a "6,000 for 6,000" format, announced the head of the Ukrainian delegation, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. The head of the Russian delegation, Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky, stated that Moscow promised to transfer 6,000 bodies of fallen fighters to Kyiv unilaterally.