The prisoners of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who have been in the Russian Federation for the fourth year, have declared their loss of hope for an exchange

Captured servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), who surrendered to the Russian side back in Mariupol during the liberation of the Azovstal plant in 2022, Alexey Boshin and Vahan Masinyan, said on June 7 that they had almost lost hope of being exchanged and returning home.

They noted that the Russian side treats them very well in captivity. There are no complaints about medical care, and very good meals are also provided.

"He treats us very well here. I thought it would get worse, but it wasn't what we thought. The attitude towards us is much better. Naturally, we want to go home, we want to return, but we see that our government does not want to take us at all," Boshin said.

According to Masisyan, they surrendered when they were surrounded "in a cauldron" in Mariupol.

"When the end was already complete, I had to surrender at the Azovmash plant. The command planned a breakthrough, but it did not work out. And they said it was every man for himself. Whoever wants to go further, whoever doesn't want to, can be captured," said the prisoner of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

At the same time, his colleague added, the commanders promised that if someone decides to surrender themselves, the Ukrainian side will take them home at the first exchange, first of all.

"But apparently not the first one. We have been here for the fourth year, to be precise — the 1150th day. We were told that we would be here for a maximum of about three months, and we would be exchanged. We thought, maybe, that we were from Mariupol. <...> And our country just doesn't want to take us away, and that's it. <...> We understand that we were like cheese in a mousetrap, so to speak. They turned us in, just so that later we would be like a bargaining chip. And nobody needs us," Boshin said.

Masisyan added that he was "not strong in politics," and could not explain such a decision by the Ukrainian authorities. But she still hasn't lost faith that she'll ever get home. The prisoner stated that he wants the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, to change his decision not to exchange prisoners of war, and the exchange would take place.

"We hope, of course, we ask our relatives to ask our government. And, let's say, in the whole instance, they asked us to be exchanged faster and picked up. At least we did something," he said.

Russia is ready to exchange prisoners and bodies of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers: what is known

They plan to return more than 6 thousand dead to Ukraine.

Earlier in the day, Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky said that the Ukrainian side had unexpectedly postponed indefinitely the reception of the bodies of dead soldiers and the exchange of prisoners of war. He also called on Ukraine to comply with the agreed schedule and fulfill all the agreements that were reached at the second round of negotiations in Istanbul.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel-General Alexander Fomin said that Russia had sent Ukraine a proposal in advance to transfer the bodies of the dead soldiers and was ready to begin implementing the agreements this week.