Ukraine and Russia have each released 205 prisoners of war in the first phase of a planned large-scale exchange, marking one of the more significant humanitarian agreements reached since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. The swap, the 74th such exchange since the war began, is part of a broader 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner deal that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced last weekend. "We will continue to fight for everyone still in captivity," he said.
The released Ukrainian soldiers — ranging in age from 21 to 62 — included privates, sergeants and officers captured during fighting in Mariupol, Donetsk, Kharkiv and other frontline regions, as well as defenders who had served near the Chernobyl nuclear plant and around Kyiv. Some had endured more than four years of captivity. One returning defender of Mariupol, the southeastern port city that fell to Russian forces in 2022 after a prolonged siege, noted that he had spent 1,494 days in Russian detention — and that the day after his release was his birthday. Video released by the Ukrainian presidential office showed soldiers weeping, embracing comrades and phoning relatives moments after crossing back into Ukrainian-controlled territory. Russian soldiers freed by Ukraine were transferred to Belarus for medical and psychological support before returning to Russia.
The United Arab Emirates mediated the exchange, continuing a diplomatic role it has played in previous humanitarian swaps between the two sides. The broader 1,000-prisoner agreement was tied to a three-day ceasefire from 9 to 11 May, itself brokered by US President Donald Trump, which coincided with Russia's Victory Day military parade marking the Soviet Union's role in the Second World War. The process subsequently stalled amid mutual recriminations: the Kremlin accused Ukraine of being slow to provide prisoner lists, a claim Zelensky rejected, calling on Washington to press Moscow to honour the commitment.
The exchange takes place against a backdrop of continued intense fighting. A massive Russian aerial assault earlier this week killed at least 24 people in Kyiv, including three teenage girls, when a residential block was destroyed — prompting the city's mayor to declare a day of mourning. Ukraine meanwhile carried out large-scale drone strikes on Russian territory. Despite the violence, prisoner swaps remain one of the few domains where both warring parties have sustained direct, practical cooperation throughout the conflict. Ukrainian authorities say more than 7,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war remain in Russian captivity, and families of those not yet released are pressing for further exchanges to proceed swiftly under the agreed framework.