KYIV: Russia and Ukraine announced a fresh prisoner swap on Friday as part of agreements reached between them during talks in Istanbul last month.
The warring sides have swapped POWs throughout Russia’s more than three-year invasion. At recent talks in Istanbul, they agreed to free all heavily wounded, ill and under 25-year-old captive troops.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published photographs of freed Ukrainian troops, wrapped in blue and yellow flags.
“Our people are home. Most of them had been held in Russian captivity since 2022,” he said on social media.
Zelensky said they included servicemen from the army, national guard, border service and transport service, adding: “And also civilians.”
He did not say how many Ukrainians had been returned.
“Ukraine’s goal is to free all our people from Russian captivity,” Zelensky said.
Russia’s defense ministry also reported the swap, saying Kyiv handed over a group of its servicemen who were currently in Moscow-allied Belarus.
It also did not say how many troops were exchanged.
Russia is believed to hold thousands of Ukrainian prisoners, many of whom were captured in the first year of Moscow’s offensive when Russian troops advanced deep into the country.
Kyiv also holds many Russian captives, although that number is believed to be considerably smaller.
