Kyiv received 205 captives from Russian custody as part of the first phase of a planned 1,000-for-1,000 swap
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Ukraine returned 205 prisoners of war from Russian captivity on Friday as part of the first stage of a planned exchange with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced. He said the transfer is part of a larger operation under which each side will release 1,000 prisoners of war.
Ukraine released 205 prisoners of war in the first stage of an exchange with Russia on a 1000-for-1000 basis. Among those returned are defenders of Mariupol and Azovstal, who have been held in Russian captivity since 2022. Kyiv expects to receive several hundred more of its citizens in subsequent stages of the exchange.
The return of prisoners of war from Mariupol and Azovstal indicates that negotiations between Ukraine and Russia on prisoner exchanges are ongoing and producing results — this affects the morale of the country and military families. If the exchange continues as planned, hundreds of Ukrainian military personnel will be able to return home in the coming weeks, which will ease the situation for their relatives and reduce personnel strain on the front.
Mehmet Yılmaz