Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said another stage of mutual release of held persons is taking place within the framework of the agreements reached during the Minsk process and the Normandy format, and assured the Ukrainian authorities will fight until every Ukrainian captive returns home.
"I, as any person, have only positive emotions. Today we're bringing back our men, our citizens of Ukraine, and I rejoice every time we have our military heroes returned, political prisoners and ordinary citizens of Ukraine. Because for us, ordinary citizens of Ukraine are the same heroes since they had been thrown behind bars because they defended our Ukraine, our sovereignty, our territorial integrity," he told journalists during a working trip to Zakarpattia region.
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"The time will come and we will return everyone, first of all, as we said, we will return everyone both within the framework of the Minsk agreements and the agreements of the Normandy Four. We will free everyone and fight until every Ukrainian returns home," Zelensky added.
As UNIAN reported earlier, another stage of the prisoner swap has kicked off in Donbas today, April 16, to bringing home 19 of Ukrainian citizens who have been held in captivity in the temporarily occupied territories.
