Ukraine and Russia on Friday exchanged 800 prisoners of war in the largest such deal since the start of the war three years ago.
As part of the exchange, Ukraine returned 390 people, among them three women, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said while announcing the exchange.
“It’s very important to bring everyone home. We are verifying every surname, every detail about each person,” Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram app. He thanked all who were involved in the prisoner exchange.
“The agreement on the release of 1,000 of our people from Russian captivity was almost the only real result of the Turkey,” he added, with reference to the direct talks held between Ukrainian and Russian representatives in Istanbul two weeks ago. Zelenskiy’s office shared photos of prisoners being greeted by their families. Some 270 Ukrainian servicemen had fought in regions across the east and north, from Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy to Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kherson, Ukraine's co-ordination headquarters for prisoners of war revealed.
Confirming the exchange took place, Russian defence ministry said it had completed the first phase of the swap, which saw the return of 270 military personnel and 120 civilians captured during Ukraine’s cross-border incursion into Kursk region last August. The released Russian POWs were currently in Belarus and were to be taken to Russia for medical checks and treatment, the defence ministry said.
