Ukraine expects a new prisoner exchange with Russia to take place in the near future, Head of the Presidential Office Kyrylo Budanov said on Thursday, April 16.
“I confirm that there will be an exchange soon,” Budanov said in a comment to Censor.NET.
He noted that delays in exchanges are often caused by logistical and legal procedures on both sides.
“We do not always manage to complete the physical and legal procedures in time – both us and them,” Budanov said.
Budanov previously said that a large-scale exchange could take place around Easter.
On April 11, Ukraine and Russia carried out a prisoner swap that resulted in the release of 175 Ukrainian service members and seven civilians.
The exchange has come as a “holiday gift” for many families during the Orthodox Easter period, reflecting Zelensky’s earlier hope that the holiday would serve as a time for “silence and security.”
While the front line remains volatile, the continued success of prisoner swaps offers a rare diplomatic breakthrough amid the broader regional instability.
Prisoner swaps have been one of the few areas of continued cooperation between Kyiv and Moscow since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.