Medinsky, who is also aide to the President of the Russian Federation, wrote on his Telegram channel, “In the context of the agreements reached in Istanbul, since Monday, June 9, our soldiers began to return home from captivity, and we will continue our efforts to bring them all back to their homeland as soon as possible.”

His comments came after a military plane carrying Russian soldiers released from Ukrainian captivity landed at the Chkalovsky airfield in the Moscow region on Monday.

Earlier, the Defense Ministry informed that the first group of Russian military soldiers under 25 years was returned from the Kiev-controlled territory. In return, an equivalent number of prisoners of war from the Ukrainian Armed Forces were handed over.

The exchange resulted in the agreements reached during the 2nd round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine held in Istanbul on June 2.

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