New Exchange of Captured Soldiers Marks Latest Step in Ukraine-Russia Talks

Ukraine and Russia carried out a prisoner exchange on Thursday, marking the latest swap since they engaged in direct peace discussions in Istanbul earlier this month.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced via social media, “Today, members of the Armed Forces, National Guard, and State Border Guard Service are coming back home,” along with photos of cheerful soldiers wrapped in Ukrainian flags.

According to Ukraine’s POW coordination center, most of the freed Ukrainians had been imprisoned for over three years, with many captured during the intense siege of Mariupol in 2022.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that its soldiers were moved to Belarus, where they are receiving psychological and medical support.

“Another group of Russian servicemen has been repatriated from areas controlled by the Kyiv regime,” the ministry stated, releasing a video showing uniformed personnel draped in Russian flags shouting “Russia!”

Neither party revealed the specific number of soldiers involved in the exchange.

During their previous direct negotiations on June 2, Ukraine and Russia committed to exchanging a minimum of 1,000 prisoners each, but no further talks have been scheduled since then.