KYIV, Ukraine — Russia and Ukraine exchanged 205 captured soldiers each in a coordinated prisoner swap Tuesday, marking their fifth such exchange this year and continuing a rare line of communication amid the ongoing war.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the release in a statement, announcing that 205 Russian servicemen had been returned following negotiations, with an equal number of Ukrainian prisoners of war handed over in return.
Officials said the exchange was mediated by the United Arab Emirates, which has quietly played a behind-the-scenes role in several previous swaps. The returned Russian troops were transported to Belarus, where they are undergoing medical and psychological evaluations, according to the ministry.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later acknowledged the exchange in a message posted to X, sharing images of smiling soldiers draped in Ukrainian flags. “Our people are free. Our people are home,” he wrote. “Young and older men from almost all types and branches of the Armed Forces. Defenders of Mariupol and the entire front line.”
Zelensky emphasized the harsh conditions many of the Ukrainian prisoners endured, noting they had been “scattered across many Russian regions, imprisoned within a system whose only purpose was to torment them and destroy their humanity.”
The exchange is the latest in a series of prisoner releases between the two countries since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. While fierce fighting continues across the eastern and southern front lines, both sides have remained open to sporadic humanitarian negotiations involving POWs.
Despite limited diplomatic engagement in other areas, prisoner swaps remain a rare instance of cooperation between Moscow and Kyiv, facilitated by neutral states such as the UAE. The release brings relief to families of those captured and highlights the ongoing human cost of the prolonged conflict.
