Relatives of Russian servicemen accuse Medinsky of lying about exchanges

According to glavcom.ua: The head of the Russian negotiating group in Istanbul, Vladimir Medinsky, has come under fire from relatives of servicemen. They accused Putin's ally of spreading false information. This was reported by 'Glavkom' citing the public movement 'Our Exit'.

On July 23, 2025, Medinsky publicly stated that the agreements from June 2, 2025, on the exchange of servicemen in the format 'all for all' in several categories were allegedly fully implemented.

However, the public movement 'Our Exit', which is engaged in the search and return of Russian servicemen home, assures that the official is lying.

“We know that such servicemen are still held captive in Ukraine. And this is not a guess, but a fact. We personally meet with them in military camps. Among them are many young, wounded, and sick – those whom Vladimir Medinsky claimed had allegedly already returned to Russia,” the movement's statement says.

The 'Our Exit' movement has already sent letters to dictator Vladimir Putin and the Minister of Defense of Russia, Andrey Belousov, requesting that the information voiced by Medinsky be verified and appropriate measures be taken.

The letter notes that Medinsky “either does not have the information or is deliberately lying, which is unacceptable in either case.” Relatives of servicemen believe that he should not represent Russia in negotiations in Istanbul and demand his resignation.

Return of defenders from Russian captivity

We remind you that on July 23, the ninth stage of prisoner exchanges took place as part of the Istanbul agreements. Heavily wounded and seriously ill defenders returned home from Russian captivity. This was reported by the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights Dmitry Lubinets, as per 'Glavkom'.

According to Lubinets, warriors of the Armed Forces of Ukraine returned to Ukraine, including those from territorial defense, marine infantry, motorized and mechanized brigades, the National Guard of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service. Among those who returned are defenders from Donetsk region, including Mariupol, Sumy region, and Kharkiv region.