We are ready for any format of exchange of those who stayed in Mariupol – Zelenskyy
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine is ready to exchange civilians and military, which are blocked by Russia in Mariupol, for Russian military.
This was stated by the Ukrainian leader at a press briefing with the President of the European Council Charles Michel in Kyiv.
– We are ready for various formats of exchange of our people (in Mariupol. – Ed.) for the Russian people, the Russian military whom they (the Russian party. – Ed.) left. And the corpses were left, and the wounded were thrown away. Therefore, we are ready for the sake of our people – both military and civilian – for any format of exchange, – said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The President of Ukraine also noted that the situation in Mariupol is getting worse.
– Unfortunately, so far we cannot achieve a positive result there. Hundreds of wounded people are in the hands of our soldiers. Defending ordinary civilians with their backs, they lose their lives … Behind our fighters in Mariupol there are about a thousand, as far as I know, but I do not know exactly how many living civilians, including children, now, – he said.
The President added that he would like to help the defenders of Mariupol in a military-political way as soon as possible, but this is not easy to do at the moment.
He added that Ukraine regularly offers Russia humanitarian corridors, but Russia is also evacuating Ukrainian citizens to Russia’s borders, after which nothing is known about the fate of these Ukrainians.
– I don’t know when we will be able to unlock Mariupol. All our servicemen are in Mariupol, they all want our victory, the unblocking of the city. They are not going to surrender to the enemy, this is their inner feeling, this is what they are inside, – said the president.
He reiterated that there are still two ways to unblock Mariupol: Western aid with weapons or diplomatic means.
Earlier, Ukrainian oligarch and politician suspected of treason Viktor Medvedchuk, who was detained by the Security Service of Ukraine on April 12, in his address to the presidents of Ukraine and Russia offered to exchange himself for defenders and residents of Mariupol.
Soldiers from the Azov Regiment, who have been defending Mariupol from the Russian offensive for 51 days, have also announced their readiness to evacuate, but are not going to surrender to the Russian occupiers.
