Russia and Ukraine returned 175 prisoners of war each on April 11 as a 32-hour truce came into force ahead of the Easter holiday.
Some 182 Ukrainians – including 175 military personnel and 7 civilians – were returned during Saturday’s exchange, according to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Nearly of the returned hostages had bee held in captivity since 2022, shortly after Russia launched its full-fledged invasion of Ukraine. Most of the returned Ukrainians had been captured during the capture of embattled Mariupol. Members of the National Guard captured in the early days of the capture of Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Zaporizhzhia were also returned to Ukraine.
"163 of them have been in Russian captivity since 2022. This is a real success. It is extremely difficult to imagine what they went through," Defense Intelligence representative Andrii Yusov said. He added that sixty of the returned Ukrainians were wounded and had complications from injuries and lack of medical care. Among the returned servicemen are members of the Navy, Land Forces, Territorial Defense Forces, Air Assault Forces, Military Law Enforcement Service, Air Force, Unmanned Systems Forces, as well as the National Guard and the State Border Guard Service. The youngest released man is 22 years old, while the oldest is 63.
According to Andrii Yusov, Ukraine had originally intended to bring back a larger number of people in the latest prisoner exchange, but Russia declined those additional returns. Despite this setback, Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence (HUR) remains optimistic that further swaps will take place.
Yusov noted that Russia turned down several humanitarian proposals put forward by Ukraine, even though Kyiv was prepared to proceed with them. Nevertheless, he emphasized that efforts are ongoing and not stalled.
He added that it is still too early to view the exchange as a one-off event, suggesting that the process may continue. In his words, the operation could expand further, and what happened today might represent just the first stage of a broader Easter-period exchange initiative.
Russia also confirmed the return of 175 of its servicemen in the prisoner swap mediated by the United Arab Emirates. Among the detainees are seven residents of Russia’s Kursk region where Ukraine staged large-scale cross border incursion in August last year, the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement. The returned Russian POWs are currently in neihgbouring Belarus where they are receiving medical treatment, the ministry said.
Russia and Ukraine previously exchanged prisoners of war on March 6, in a 300-for-300 exchange.
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