Ukraine and Russia have completed a “1,000 for 1,000” prisoner swap after three days of exchanges, amid heavy Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian cities.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Sunday that the final 303 Ukrainian captives scheduled to be released had been returned from Russia in the final stage of the largest-ever such swap between the warring countries.
“Today, warriors of our Armed Forces, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service, and the State Special Transport Service are returning home,” Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram app.
He wrote on X: “I thank the team that worked around the clock to successfully carry out this exchange. We will definitely bring back every single one of our people from Russian captivity.”
Images of the release, which the two sides agreed on in Istanbul just over a week ago, showed returned prisoners with shaved heads, many wrapped in flags, being reunited with loved ones in Ukraine.
The exchange was the latest of dozens of swaps since the war began and the biggest involving Ukrainian civilians.
Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of PoWs said those released included 70 men who had been involved in the defence of Mariupol during the Russian siege in 2022.
Russia also confirmed that the final exchange had been completed, saying on Sunday it had exchanged 303 Ukrainian prisoners of war for the same number of Russian soldiers held by Kyiv.
“In accordance with the Russian-Ukrainian agreements reached in Istanbul on May 16, the Russian and Ukrainian sides have (over the weekend) carried out the exchange of 1,000 people for 1,000 people,” Russia’s defence ministry said.
While some had initially hoped that the exchange, which began on Friday, could open the way to at least a temporary ceasefire, two consecutive days of massive Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukraine, which on Sunday killed 12 people and injured scores more, have undermined that prospect.
