Ukraine and Russia exchanged 103 prisoners of war on Wednesday, Aug. 19, bringing more Ukrainian soldiers home from Russian captivity.
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the exchange, saying the 103 Ukrainians released included soldiers from the Armed Forces, State Border Guard Service, and National Guard.
Among those freed were troops who fought in some of the war’s fiercest battles, including the defense of Mariupol, as well as fighting in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, and Sumy regions.
“Today, 103 Ukrainian warriors are returning home from Russian captivity,” Zelensky said.
Ukraine, in return, handed Russia 103 Russian military prisoners.
The exchange is the latest in a series of prisoner and body swaps between Kyiv and Moscow despite the ongoing war.
The previous prisoner exchange took place on June 26, when Ukraine and Russia each received 160 prisoners.
The two sides also exchanged the bodies of fallen soldiers in July and August. In July, Russia returned 501 bodies to Ukraine, while another exchange took place on Aug. 13.