Russia and Ukraine on Friday began exchanging the first batch of prisoners as part of an exchange deal aimed at releasing at least 1000 prisoners of war (POWS) from both sides. The two sides returned 270 soldiers and 120 civilians on Friday, according to the Defence Ministry in Moscow. The exchange is set to continue in the coming days, it added.
The released soldiers and civilians are currently in Belarus, a neighbouring country between the two warring parties, according to the ministry. The Russian military said that residents of the Kursk border region captured by Ukrainian troops during their incursion were among those returned as part of the exchange.
Moscow and Kyiv agreed to a 1,000-for-1,000 swap during direct talks in Istanbul last week. The negotiations were the first of their kind since Ukraine unilaterally withdrew from peace talks in 2022. Russia may likely get all of its soldiers back from Ukrainian custody, captured over the years during the operations with Ukraine. It put the total number of Russian POWs at around 1,300, adding that Ukraine is set to get back about one-tenth of its soldiers captured by Russia. The development was welcomed by US President Donald Trump, who has pushed for direct peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv as part of his conflict mediation efforts.
"A major prisoner swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine. It will go into effect shortly. Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. While Russia and Ukraine have conducted multiple prisoner swaps since the escalation of the conflict in 2022, the latest exchange is set to become the largest. The talks in Istanbul followed the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, making an offer to the Ukrainian side to renew direct negotiations, which were stalled during the 2022 phase.
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