The Ukrainian side is ready to exchange Russian prisoners of war for Ukrainian prisoners of war before the end of hostilities. This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview for Russian media from "Zygar" YouTube channel, "Rain" TV channel, "Meduza" portal, "Kommersant" and "Novaya Gazeta".
"Lists are being compiled. Our military, I know, made lists. There are lists of all those who are in captivity. I don't know if everyone is interested in them. Politicians, I think, are not very interested in them. I'm just not sure that the Russian side needs these lists," the Head of State said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that he stood for exchanging prisoners of war without waiting for the end of the war.
"It is not necessary to act according to some generally accepted canons: like let’s wait until the end of the war, or let’s capture more... I do not understand that. I believe that there is an agreement to exchange everyone for everyone, we have this number - let's exchange for this number. Let’s not measure: 10 for 10, 11 for 11,” the President said.
He also noted that Ukraine does not want to leave the corpses of Russian soldiers on its territory, but wants to hand them over to the relatives of the dead.
"They (the Russian side - ed.) first refused, then offered us some bags... It all looks like... You know, even when a dog or a cat dies, people don't do so. These are garbage bags. I don't understand what people think, what the parents of these children think," the President said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that for him, as the President of a warring country, such an attitude is unacceptable even towards soldiers of an enemy state.
"It's not cattle. And why is it dreadful? Because if this is the attitude towards their own people, then what is the attitude towards everyone else? And we are definitely not “friends” for the Russian government," he concluded.