Zelensky: Ukraine has returned 2,500 people from Russia, including about 400 children

"We have returned 2,500 people, including about 400 children and about 150 civilians. It is difficult to return civilians because you exchange military personnel for military personnel during swaps. We do not have many civilians whom we can exchange for civilians," President Volodymyr Zelensky told a press conference in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

He noted that Turkey and Saudi Arabia helped Ukraine with the exchange of military personnel. In addition, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has a list of captured residents of Crimea and promised to help with this.

"Speaking about the United Nations, on the one hand, they helped with the grain corridor, and on the other hand, our [Kakhovka] plant was blown up today, and the UN General Assembly congratulates everybody on the Day of the Russian Language. I can't tell UN anything after this, what should I talk to them about today," Zelensky said.

The President also noted that he called for help in the return of Ukrainian children during the meeting with the representative of the Vatican today. This topic was also discussed with China.

"That is, if they have some powerful economic, religious, or political relations with the Russian Federation, then such people can influence the return of children and civilians," the Head of State added.

As reported, President Zelensky discussed the situation in Ukraine and humanitarian cooperation within the framework of the Ukrainian Peace Formula implementation with Pope Francis’s special envoy, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, at the meeting today.