Ukraine and Russia exchanged 205 prisoners of war each on Friday, with Kyiv and Moscow confirming the swap. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said most of the Ukrainians had been in captivity since the 2022 invasion, calling it the first phase of a 1,000-for-1,000 exchange. Images showed released troops wrapped in blue-and-yellow flags.
Released Ukrainians included defenders of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol and Chernobyl. The Russian defense ministry said its 205 servicemen were taken to Belarus for medical care, and thanked the United Arab Emirates for humanitarian assistance.
President Donald Trump announced the large swap last week as part of a three-day U.S.-brokered ceasefire covering Russia's Victory Day parade. While both sides have accused each other of violating the truce, including a deadly Russian barrage on Kyiv, the POW exchanges remain the only tangible diplomatic result. Zelenskyy confirmed the ceasefire was conditional on the return of prisoners, stating, "Red Square is less important to us than the lives of Ukrainian prisoners."