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The United States has joined the process of liberating Belarusian political prisoners and could play an important role in securing the release of Ukrainian citizens unlawfully detained in Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a visit to Lithuania.
According to Zelensky, the US is already addressing the issue of freeing Belarusian political prisoners, while Ukraine supports the process by sharing its own experience. The president noted that some results of this cooperation have already been achieved, with a portion of prisoners having been released.
At the same time, Zelensky emphasized that many of the released individuals were unable to return to Belarus and were forced to leave the country. He also expressed hope that the US would use its influence to help free Ukrainian political prisoners held in Russia.
Russia slows down prisoner exchanges
In December, Zelensky stated that the prisoner exchange process with Russia had effectively stalled due to actions by the aggressor country.
According to him, Rustem Umerov had reached preliminary agreements with the Russian side for a large-scale exchange before the New Year, but Russia began delaying the process. As a result, the agreed exchange did not take place.
Meanwhile, on December 31, the Coordination Headquarters for Prisoner Affairs reported that since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, over 10,000 Russian servicemen have been taken prisoner. On average, Ukrainian defenders capture between 60 and 90 occupying forces per week.
