Ukraine and Russia take part in biggest prisoner swap since 2022 invasion 20 minutes ago James Waterhouse & Amy Walker In northern Ukraine & London Russia and Ukraine have each handed over 390 soldiers and civilians in the biggest prisoner exchange since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022.
“We are bringing our people home,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on social media.
Families of Ukrainian soldiers held by Russia gathered in northern Ukraine on Friday in the hope that their sons and husbands would be among those released.
Trump said earlier this week that Russia and Ukraine would “immediately” start negotiating towards a ceasefire and an end to the war, after a two-hour phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He said after an agreement was ready, Russia would “see who out of those in power in Ukraine has legitimacy”.
Russia and Ukraine participate in the largest prisoner exchange since the invasion of 2022.
Just twenty minutes ago.
Amy Walker and James Waterhouse.
London and northern Ukraine.
The largest prisoner exchange since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022 has seen Russia and Ukraine turn over 390 soldiers and civilians each.
A week ago, in direct negotiations in Istanbul, they both agreed to return 120 civilians and 270 servicemen to the Ukrainian border with Belarus.
The exchange of 1,000 prisoners was accepted by both parties, and it was confirmed that more swaps would take place in the days ahead.
No handover has involved as many civilians, despite dozens of smaller-scale exchanges.
According to the Russian defense ministry, those turned over included both military personnel and civilians, including those taken prisoner by Ukrainian forces during Kyiv’s recent offensive in the Kursk region of the country’s border.
According to the ministry, they were currently in Belarus and were scheduled to be transported to Russia for medical examinations and treatment.
On social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared, “We are bringing our people home.”.
We are checking each person’s last name and all of their personal information. “,”.
According to Ukraine’s POW coordination headquarters, the 270 Ukrainian soldiers served in areas ranging from Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Kherson to Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy in the east and north.
According to officials, some of the 390 soldiers who were freed on Friday had been detained since 2022, and three of them were women.
US President Donald Trump had earlier expressed his congratulations on his Truth Social platform, saying that “this could lead to something big???” and that the swap was finalized.
Russian detainees’ families gathered in northern Ukraine on Friday, hoping their husbands and sons would be among those freed.
Natalia, whose son Yelizar was taken prisoner during the battle for Severodonetsk three years ago, told the BBC that she thought he would come back, but she was unsure of when.
Olha claimed that her life had come to a halt because she was unsure of the survival of her son Valerii and the other five soldiers who had been captured in the east.
“They were apprehended in Luhansk two months ago. They disappeared in a village. “.
Despite the fact that the two-hour meeting did not result in any ceasefire progress, the prisoner swap was agreed upon in Turkey a week ago when low-level delegations from Russia and Ukraine met in person for the first time since March 2022.
Russia will give a “memorandum” to the Ukrainian side in a second round of negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced on Friday.
Following a two-hour phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week, Trump declared that Russia and Ukraine would “immediately” begin negotiating toward a ceasefire and an end to the conflict.
Since that time, Zelensky has charged that Putin is “trying to buy time” to prolong the conflict.
Lavrov stated that it was “not a very realistic option,” but Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has supported Trump’s suggestion that the Vatican could mediate negotiations for a ceasefire.
Before a possible future peace deal is signed, the Russian foreign minister recommended holding fresh elections and reiterated the baseless accusation that Zelensky was not a legitimate leader.
Lavrov responded, “We need to have a deal first,” when asked if Russia was prepared to sign a deal. And we’ll make a decision once it’s agreed. However, President Zelensky lacks legitimacy, as President Putin has stated repeatedly. “.
He declared that Russia would “see who out of those in power in Ukraine has legitimacy” once an agreement was ready.
The main objective at this time is to draft a peace deal that will be trustworthy and offer a lasting, equitable, and stable peace without endangering anyone’s security. In our situation, Russia is a concern. “.
