Ukraine and Russia swap 205 prisoners of war each in US-brokered exchange

Published connected 15/05/2026 - 14:02 GMT+2•Updated 14:04

Ukraine and Russia exchanged 205 prisoners of warfare each connected Friday, Kyiv and Moscow said, a week aft US President Donald Trump announced a ample swap would instrumentality spot betwixt the 2 countries.

In a station connected Telegram, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that astir of the Ukrainians handed implicit had been successful Russian captivity since 2022, the twelvemonth Moscow launched its full-scale penetration of Ukraine.

"This is the archetypal signifier of the 1,000-for-1,000 captive exchange," helium said.

Zelenskyy besides posted pictures of the released Ukrainians, showing them wrapped successful nationalist blue-and-yellow flags arsenic they smiled and embraced each other.

He said they included troops who fought successful the conflict for the Mariupol steelworks, Azovstal, and those who defended Chernobyl, which concisely fell to Moscow astatine the commencement of the war.

The Russian defence ministry said successful a connection connected societal media that "205 Russian servicemen were returned," adding that, "in exchange, 205 Ukrainian equipped forces prisoners of warfare were transferred."

The ministry said the Russian troops were taken to Russia's adjacent state Belarus, wherever "they are receiving the indispensable intelligence and aesculapian assistance."

“The United Arab Emirates provided humanitarian assistance during the instrumentality of the Russian servicemen from captivity," it added.

It comes aft Trump said past week that Russia and Ukraine would transportation retired a communal swap of 1,000 prisoners arsenic helium announced a three-day US-brokered ceasefire that covered Russia's Victory Day parade connected 9 May celebrating the extremity of World War II.

Both sides person traded accusations of violating the truce, with Ukraine saying Moscow ramped up its strikes against civilians, sidesplitting astatine slightest 24 successful an aerial barrage connected Kyiv connected Thursday.

The Ukrainian aerial unit said Russia had launched 675 drones and 56 missiles successful the attack, which targeted homes, residential flat blocks and different civilian infrastructure.

The POW exchanges stay the lone tangible effect of US-led talks to enactment an extremity to Russia's warfare against Ukraine arsenic diplomatic efforts person been stalled for weeks.

The latest "1,000 for 1,000" swap was announced by Donald Trump connected 8 May arsenic portion of the ceasefire woody betwixt Ukraine and Russia during the Victory Day parade.

Kyiv confirmed that the instrumentality of the prisoners of warfare was Ukraine’s main information to hold to a three-day ceasefire and specifically to refrain from targeting the Moscow parade.

"Red Square is little important to america than the lives of Ukrainian prisoners, who tin beryllium returned home," Zelenskyy said confirming the ceasefire and the POW exchange.