Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that Ukraine has effectively backed out of a proposed prisoner exchange agreement involving 1,000 individuals from each side.
Putin stated that the proposal for the exchange was initially made by Russia on May 5. He claimed that Ukraine expressed a willingness to consider the exchange but ultimately declined the offer.
He elaborated, “On May 5, we submitted a proposal to the Ukrainian side and provided a list of 500 Ukrainian servicemen currently held in Russia. Initially, their response indicated they needed to review it further, possibly considering a smaller number, but eventually, they completely dismissed the idea and stated they were not ready for this exchange.”
Putin also mentioned that there have been no new proposals, but he asserted that the United States had suggested a 1,000-for-1,000 exchange, which Moscow promptly supported.
He concluded, “Therefore, when President Trump’s proposal was made, we, of course, supported it immediately. We expect that the Ukrainian side will respond to the U.S. president’s offer.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin claims that Ukraine has rejected a prisoner exchange proposal initially suggested by Russia. He emphasized that the U.S. had also proposed a similar exchange, which Russia is willing to support.