Russia and Ukraine exchanged prisoners of war, including civilians

Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 185 soldiers and 20 civilians each. This was announced by both the Russian Ministry of Defense and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “Most of them had been in captivity since 2022 and are now finally home,” he said on the Telegram platform, where he posted photos of men wrapped in Ukraine's blue and yellow national flags.

Since the start of the Russian invasion, Ukraine has already brought back more than 7,000 people, Zelensky added.

The exchange is in line with the agreements reached during the last direct peace talks in Istanbul on July 23.

The Russian ministry noted that the returned soldiers and civilians are currently in Belarus, where they are receiving necessary psychological and medical care.

The prisoner exchange is part of ongoing efforts to implement humanitarian measures agreed upon during the peace negotiations. Details about the identities or health conditions of those exchanged were not released.

(reuters, sie)