Russia, Ukraine begin large prisoner exchange, expected to continue in coming days

 

Russia, Ukraine begin large prisoner exchange, expected to continue in coming days

The prisoner swap was agreed to during recent talks in Turkey






LONDON -- Russia and Ukraine have begun a large exchange of prisoners of war on Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry said, with around 1,000 soldiers from each side expected to be swapped at the Ukraine-Belarus border when completed.


There have been 270 Russian soldiers and 120 Russian civilians swapped for 270 Ukrainian soldiers and 120 Ukrainian civilians on Friday, according to the defense ministry. The exchange is expected to continue "in the coming days," Russia said.


"We are bringing our people home," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. "The first stage of the '1000-for-1000' exchange agreement has been carried out."


MORE: Trump said only he could get Putin to make a Ukraine peace deal. It hasn't happened.

"Thank you to everyone who is helping and working 24/7 to bring Ukrainian men and women back home," he continued. "It is very important to return everyone who remains in captivity. We are verifying every surname, every detail about each person. We will continue our diplomatic efforts to make such steps possible."


The Russian soldiers and civilians were in Belarus, "where they are being provided with the necessary psychological and medical assistance," the Russian Defense Ministry said.



Ukrainian prisoners of war are seen after a swap, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at an unknown location in Ukraine, in this handout picture released May 23, 2025.

Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters

The exchange was prepared following bilateral peace talks in Istanbul last week.


Though the meeting -- the first direct talks between the combatants since the spring of 2022 -- failed to result in a ceasefire, the two sides did agree to Friday's prisoner swap.


Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday that once the swap is complete, Russia will hand over a draft "outlining the conditions for achieving a sustainable, long-term, comprehensive settlement agreement," according to Russian state media.


MORE: Russia-Ukraine talks: Prisoner exchange agreed upon, Ukraine requests Putin-Zelenskyy meeting

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said Friday that Ukraine is committed to a ceasefire and called the exchange the "first stage."


"We achieved 1,000 for 1,000. After this, if it will be successful, as I said first is exchanges, second is the ceasefire," he said.


Such exchanges have taken place throughout Russia's 3-year-old invasion, though the swap -- once completed -- will be by far the largest to date. Prisoner exchanges are one of the few areas in which Moscow and Kyiv have been able to reach an accord during the conflict.



Ukrainian prisoners of war are seen after a swap, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at an unknown location in Ukraine, in this handout picture released May 23, 2025.

Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters

President Donald Trump also held a high-stakes phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, saying afterward that Russia and Ukraine will "immediately" start negotiations toward a ceasefire. Trump said he also spoke with Zelenskyy after the call with Putin.


Fierce fighting and long-range drone exchanges continued regardless -- and despite continued U.S.-led efforts to produce a ceasefire agreement.


Russia carried out a "large-scale aerial attack" on Ukraine overnight Friday using 175 drones and one ballistic missile, the Ukrainian air force said.


Ukrainian air defenses neutralized 150 of those Russian drones, but damage was reported in the Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Odesa, Chernivtsi, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, according to the Ukrainian air force.



People pay their respect at the memorial to the fallen Ukrainian soldiers on Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 19, 2025.

Efrem Lukatsky/AP

Ukraine's air force on Wednesday reported 76 Russian drones launched into the country overnight, of which 63 were shot down or lost in flight without causing damage. The air force reported damage in four Ukrainian regions.


Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces downed at least 162 Ukrainian drones overnight.








Kyiv hit by Russian strikes as largest prisoner swap of war begins

At least 17 people were injured as buildings and infrastructure was damaged




LONDON -- Russia launched a large drone and missile attack on Kyiv early Saturday, injuring six and damaging buildings across the city as the next stage of a prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia is set for today, with 390 people already freed and up to 1000 inmates expected to be released in the coming days.


Russia fired 14 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles and 250 Shahed drones, mostly targeting Kyiv. Ukraine’s Air Force said it shot down six missiles and 245 drones.


At least 17 people were injured in Kyiv, with residential buildings and infrastructure damaged across multiple districts.


Elsewhere, Russian shelling in Kherson region over the past day killed two people and injured 13, damaging critical and social infrastructure, along with three apartment buildings and 12 private homes. Russian forces also killed four and injured eight more In the Donetsk region on Friday.


In Russia, Ukrainian drone attacks overnight and on Saturday morning injured three people and targeted industrial sites in the Lipetsk and Tula regions. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed 94 drones were downed over six regions.


Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR) says Russian forces have executed more than 150 captured Ukrainian soldiers since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, describing it as part of a deliberate campaign by Moscow’s leadership.


Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for stronger sanctions against Russia, saying Moscow’s aim is to prolong the war by rejecting ceasefire proposals.


The exchange was prepared following bilateral peace talks in Istanbul last week.



Ukrainian prisoners of war are seen after a swap, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at an unknown location in Ukraine, in this handout picture released May 23, 2025.

Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday that once the swap is complete, Russia will hand over a draft "outlining the conditions for achieving a sustainable, long-term, comprehensive settlement agreement," according to Russian state media.


Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said Friday that Ukraine is committed to a ceasefire and called the exchange the "first stage."


"We achieved 1,000 for 1,000. After this, if it will be successful, as I said first is exchanges, second is the ceasefire," he said.


Such exchanges have taken place throughout Russia's 3-year-old invasion, though the swap -- once completed -- will be by far the largest to date. Prisoner exchanges are one of the few areas in which Moscow and Kyiv have been able to reach an accord during the conflict


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