The Russian and Ukrainian ombudsman announced that they met in Belarus to discuss humanitarian issues, France Press reported. This is the first official meeting between the two public defenders since January last year.
"A meeting was held on the territory of Belarus on a parity basis with the Ukrainian side," wrote in "Telegram" the Russian ombudsman Tatiana Moskalkova.
"I am interacting with the Russian ombudsman to resolve humanitarian issues,” Ukrainian public defender Dmytro Lubinets said shortly after it was reported that Russia had handed over to Ukraine the bodies of 563 Ukrainian soldiers killed during the war.
According to Moskalkova, the two countries exchanged lists of prisoners of war and letters from their families and discussed further humanitarian cooperation to provide aid to the civilian population.
As part of the meeting, a 91-year-old woman living in Ukraine was returned to her family in Russia, Moskalkova said.
"We handed over letters from relatives of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia,” Lubinets said, confirming the other issues discussed.
Since the beginning of the conflict, Russia and Ukraine have organized numerous prisoner of war exchanges involving thousands of people from each side.
Earlier today, Ukraine announced that Russia had handed over the bodies of 563 Ukrainian soldiers killed during the war, without specifying whether it was an exchange.