On Thursday, Feb. 5, Ukraine and Russia carried out a prisoner exchange that resulted in the return of 157 Ukrainians from Russian captivity, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“Ours are home – 157 Ukrainians,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram, calling the exchange especially significant as it took place after a long pause in swaps. He said those freed included soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, and the State Border Guard Service, as well as civilians.
“Most of them had been in captivity since 2022,” the president said, thanking everyone involved in organizing the exchange and Ukrainian forces whose actions help sustain Ukraine’s negotiating position.
71st exchange since start of full-scale war
Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said the swap was the first prisoner exchange of 2026 and the 71st since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
According to the headquarters, Ukraine secured the release of 150 military personnel and seven civilians. Those freed include servicemen from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including the Navy, Ground Forces, Air Assault Forces, Air Force, and Territorial Defense units, as well as members of the National Guard and the State Border Guard Service.
In addition to soldiers and sergeants, several officers were also released, the headquarters said.
Many defenders held since Mariupol siege
The freed servicemen defended Ukraine on multiple fronts, including in the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Sumy, and Kyiv regions.
More than half of those released were captured during the defense of Mariupol in 2022, according to the Coordination Headquarters. A National Guard serviceman captured during Russia’s seizure of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant was also among those freed.
The headquarters said 139 of those returned on Thursday had been held in Russian captivity since 2022.
The Kyiv Post correspondent filmed the reaction of Ukrainian woman Olha, who finally received a call from her husband Ruslan, captured in Mariupol in the spring of 2022. He was released as part of Thursday’s exchange - the first swap in more than four months after Russia had blocked the process.
Youngest freed at 23, oldest at 63
The exchange included several illegally convicted Ukrainians, the Coordination Headquarters said.
The youngest serviceman released is now 23 years old. He was captured at the age of 19 during the defense of Mariupol and later sentenced by a Russian court to life imprisonment, a sentence Ukraine considers illegal. The oldest person freed in the exchange is 63 years old.
Medical care, rehabilitation to follow
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said those freed endured extremely harsh conditions in captivity and now face a lengthy recovery process.
He said Ukraine would provide comprehensive assistance, including medical examinations, treatment if needed, physical rehabilitation, and mental health support programs.
“Despite a long pause in exchanges, work to bring our people home never stops,” Klymenko said, calling the process complex and multi-staged.
International mediation acknowledged
The Coordination Headquarters thanked the United States and the United Arab Emirates for their assistance in organizing the exchange and helping secure the return of both military personnel and civilians.
Those released will undergo full medical screenings and receive all state payments stipulated by law, officials said. Ukraine will also support their reintegration into society after prolonged isolation in captivity.
“We remember everyone who is still in captivity,” Zelensky said. “We are working on every single name. We must bring everyone home.”
Zelensky had earlier signaled that a prisoner exchange was imminent following US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi involving Ukrainian, Russian, and American delegations.
On Wednesday, the president said he had received a report from Ukrainian negotiators in Abu Dhabi and expected a prisoner swap “in the near future,” calling it a significant step toward bringing Ukrainians home.
Ukrainian and Russian delegations, alongside US representatives, agreed during talks in Abu Dhabi to prepare an exchange involving 314 prisoners, according to US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. The negotiations marked the first breakthrough in months of stalled diplomacy.
Zelensky has previously said Russia was deliberately delaying prisoner exchanges to pressure Ukraine during negotiations.