Russia sets conditions for prisoner exchange after 2,400 Ukrainian soldiers surrender

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 Russia said it was "too early" to consider a prisoner exchange after the surrender of more than 2,400 Ukrainian soldiers.


Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said on May 25 that Moscow would consider exchanging prisoners with Ukraine after the surrender of Ukrainian soldiers "are prosecuted and sentenced appropriately".


"Before taking them to court, all (prisoner) exchanges were premature," Rudenko said.


Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 23 that the country was ready to conduct a prisoner exchange with Russia "from tomorrow".


On May 21, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that all soldiers who had been sheltering inside the Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol had surrendered to Russian forces. Russia said the number of soldiers surrendered reached more than 2,400 people. The injured were treated at the hospital, while the rest were taken to a prison in Donetsk.


The fate of the soldiers at Azovstal is unknown, although Kiev says it is trying to negotiate a prisoner exchange with Moscow. Zelensky said that the country's intelligence services were closely monitoring the process of the withdrawal of Ukrainian defense forces from Azovstal as well as the preparation for negotiations.


Among the Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered to Russian forces were members of the Azov Battalion, which is a nationalist militia in Ukraine. The Azov Battalion joined the Ukrainian National Guard and became the main force against the Russian army in the city of Mariupol.


On May 26, Russia's Supreme Court is expected to consider a proposal to designate the Azov Battalion as a "terrorist organization". The move could further complicate prisoner exchanges between the two countries.


According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the prisoner exchange is an operation run by the military. Therefore, any request for the exchange of prisoners, including those already released from the Azovstal factory, must be approved by the Russian Ministry of Defense.


Peskov also confirmed that Russia had no intention of exchanging Ukrainian prisoners for Kiev to release opposition politician Viktor Medvedchuk.


Viktor Medvedchuk, 67, a tycoon and leader of the largest opposition party in Ukraine, is suspected of having close ties to Russia. He is also one of the richest people in Ukraine.


Mr. Medvedchuk has held many positions in Ukrainian politics since the 1990s, such as Chief of Staff to former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma from 2002-2005. Medvedchuk also played an important role in peace talks between the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatists in the east when fighting here broke out since 2014.


Last year, he was charged with treason by Kiev on a series of charges, including selling military secrets to Russia and aiding terrorism. Ukrainian authorities placed Mr. Medvedchuk under house arrest from the very first day Russia launched its military operation in the country in late February, but just a few days later, he escaped and has remained anonymous ever since. until he was arrested by the Ukrainian Secret Service on April 12.

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