Kiev, May 11: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that Ukraine has submitted a list of 1,000 prisoners for exchange with Russia. This information was provided by the President’s press service. Meanwhile, both countries have accused each other of violating a three-day ceasefire agreement.
In a speech on Sunday evening, President Zelensky stated, “Preparations are underway for an exchange of 1,000 prisoners for 1,000, and it must happen. The Americans have taken responsibility for these guarantees.”
According to a report by the Xinhua news agency, he emphasized that the fighting with Russia must come to an end, and reliable security guarantees should be established.
He added, “Now (Russian President Vladimir) Putin himself is saying that he is finally ready for a real meeting. We have pushed him a bit for this, and we have also been ready for such a meeting for a long time. Now we need to find a format.”
On Friday, Russia and Ukraine agreed to a three-day ceasefire and the exchange of 1,000 prisoners. However, both countries accused each other of violating the declared ceasefire on Sunday.
According to Xinhua, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Sunday that the Ukrainian army had violated the ceasefire 16,071 times in the past 24 hours.
The ministry stated that the Russian army responded to these violations by launching counterattacks on multiple launch rocket systems, artillery and mortar positions, as well as command posts and drone launch sites.
On Saturday, the ministry reported 8,970 ceasefire violations in several areas. Ukrainian officials stated that despite the ceasefire, at least one person was killed and 15 others injured due to Russian attacks across Ukraine.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces issued a statement indicating that the Russian army attacked Ukrainian positions 60 times on Sunday. It is noteworthy that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to a three-day ceasefire from Saturday to Monday during the Victory Day celebrations.