Russia, Ukraine swap 205 prisoners of war each

KYIV (AFP) — Russia and Ukraine exchanged 205 prisoners of war each on Friday, Moscow and Kyiv said, a week after US President Donald Trump announced a large swap would take place between the warring sides.

The Russian defense ministry said in a statement on social media that “205 Russian servicemen were returned from territory” controlled by Kyiv, adding that, “in exchange, 205 Ukrainian armed forces prisoners of war were transferred.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram most of the Ukrainians handed over had been in Russian captivity since 2022.

Trump said last week that Russia and Ukraine would carry out a mutual swap of 1,000 prisoners as he announced a three-day US-brokered ceasefire that covered Russia’s 9 May parade celebrating the defeat of the Nazis. 

Both sides have traded accusations of violating the truce and Ukraine has accused Moscow of ramping up its strikes against civilians after it expired, killing at least 24 in an air barrage on Kyiv on Thursday. 

“This is the first phase of the 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange,” Zelensky said. 

He posted pictures of the released Ukrainians, wrapped in national blue-and-yellow flags, smiling and embracing each other.

Zelensky said they included troops who fought in the bloody battle for Mariupol’s steelworks Azovtsal and those who defended Chernobyl, which briefly fell to Moscow at the start of its invasion. 

The POW swaps remain one of the few remaining areas of cooperation between the two sides, at war since Russia ordered troops into its neighbour in February 2022.

Moscow’s defense ministry said its troops were brought to its ally Belarus, where “they are receiving the necessary psychological and medical assistance.”

It added that “the United Arab Emirates provided humanitarian assistance during the return of the Russian servicemen from captivity.”