Russia and Ukraine this week returned 500 prisoners of war as part of the largest prisoner swap carried out between the two countries over the past six months.
“This is one of the largest exchanges since the 1,000 for 1,000 exchange,” representative of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Petro Yatsenko said, adding that the return of POWs was facilitated by Geneva. The official revealed that some of the released prisoners of war had been held in captivity since the start of the war in 2022, some since 2024, and a small number since 2025. Among the released Ukrainians are defenders of southeastern Kherson, eastern Donetsk regions as well as defenders of embattled Mariupol city in Donetsk.
Some 200 of Ukrainian POWs were returned on March 5, another 300 on March 6. The official explained the difficulty surrounding the return of all hostages. “It’s difficult to pull everyone out of captivity. Yes, we have a sufficient exchange fund, and the coordination headquarters is working so that exchanges take place,” he said.
Russia also confirmed the exchange took place, with the Defence Ministry saying that all released servicemen will be transported to Russia for treatment and rehabilitation at Defense Ministry’s medical facilities.
The last large-scale prisoner swap took place in the summer of 2025, when 1,000 Russians were exchanged for 1,000 Ukrainian defenders.
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