Ukraine and Russia Exchange First 205 Prisoners in Mass Swap

Ukraine announced the return of 205 soldiers from Russian captivity in the first phase of a "1,000 for 1,000" prisoner swap, as declared by Kyiv on Telegram.

Among those released are members of the armed forces, navy, national guard and border guards, most of whom had been held in Russian captivity since 2022. They had fought at Mariupol and the Azovstal steelworks, as well as on fronts in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy and Kyiv regions and at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

The Ukrainian leadership thanked all those involved in securing the releases, as well as partners assisting in the exchanges, and declared that efforts to free all Ukrainians remaining in captivity would continue.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said its 205 troops are in Belarus, where they are receiving the necessary support. Moscow also announced that the exchange had been brokered by the United Arab Emirates.

Russia and Ukraine have agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war as part of a three-day ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump.

(reuters, telegram, bak)