President Volodymyr Zelensky announced another completed round of prisoner exchange on Friday.
The last round of exchange took place on June 26, with the release of prisoners of war (POWs) being the major – if not only – agreement between Kyiv and Moscow after multiple negotiations in Istanbul.
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Zelensky wrote on X that Friday’s exchange consists mostly of troops captured by Russia since 2022, when Moscow launched its full-scale invasion.
“Our people are home. Most of them had been held in Russian captivity since 2022,” Zelensky wrote.
Zelensky added that civilians were among those released from Russian captivity, but did not disclose the exact number released.
“Today, our defenders who fought for Ukraine in various regions – the Donetsk region and Mariupol, the Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions – are coming back. These are warriors of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service, and the State Special Transport Service. And also civilians,” he added.
Zelensky also thanked everyone involved in facilitating the POW exchange process.
Several POW exchanges took place in June following the Istanbul talks.
On June 9, Zelensky announced a round of exchange consisting of mostly troops below the age of 25, followed by the second stage on Tuesday, June 10, when seriously wounded Ukrainian soldiers were returned home from Russian captivity.
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The third stage took place on June 12, with a number of troops who participated in the defense of Mariupol being returned. On June 14, another round of exchange took place, where some who were previously considered missing in action were returned from Russian captivity.
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