Moscow: Moscow and Kyiv have confirmed the successful exchange of 372 prisoners of war, including nearly two dozen severely wounded Ukrainian soldiers. The swap, announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday night, involved the release of 175 prisoners from each side. Additionally, Russia pledged to return 23 injured Ukrainian soldiers as a humanitarian gesture.
On Wednesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry stated that 22 wounded Ukrainian troops had been released, though it did not clarify why the number was one fewer than originally promised. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later confirmed the exchange, sharing images of the returning servicemen, many visibly injured and draped in Ukrainian flags. He highlighted that the freed personnel came from various military branches, including territorial defense forces and border guards, who had been engaged in combat across Ukraine’s eastern, southern, and northeastern regions, as well as in Russia’s Kursk region.
Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, noted that this exchange brought the total number of Ukrainian soldiers repatriated since the 2022 invasion to over 4,300. Meanwhile, Russia’s military credited the United Arab Emirates for mediating the swap, as it has done in previous exchanges. The released Russian soldiers were first taken to Belarus for medical and psychological assessments before their return to Russia for further care.
This exchange took place shortly after Putin, in discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump, agreed to a temporary 30-day halt on strikes targeting energy infrastructure. While Zelensky welcomed the limited ceasefire, he criticized Putin for rejecting a broader U.S.-backed peace proposal, arguing that the Kremlin remained focused on weakening Ukraine rather than seeking a lasting resolution.
Despite the ceasefire, tensions remain high. On Wednesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of violating the truce by carrying out a drone attack on an oil depot in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region overnight.
