On Sunday, Russia and Ukraine each returned 146 prisoners of war, marking another chapter in a series of exchanges that have resulted in the release of hundreds of POWs this year, according to both nations.
The significant exchanges of prisoners have been the only concrete outcome from three rounds of discussions held in Istanbul between Russian and Ukrainian representatives from May to July. They represent one of the limited areas of collaboration between the two countries since the onset of Russia’s military campaign in 2022.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced via Telegram that “on August 24, 146 servicemen from Russia were returned from areas under Kyiv’s control.” In turn, they stated, “146 prisoners of war from the Ukrainian Armed Forces were handed over to Ukraine.”
Ukraine has not disclosed specific numbers regarding the exchange.
Additionally, Russia reported that “eight citizens of the Russian Federation — residents of the Kursk region, who were unlawfully detained” by Ukraine, were also part of the swap.
This exchange stemmed from a surprise incursion by Ukrainian forces into Russia’s Kursk region in August of the previous year, during which they seized hundreds of square kilometers, marking a significant setback for the Kremlin.
In response, Russia deployed thousands of troops from its ally North Korea for a counteroffensive but did not regain full control of the area until April.
Among those exchanged on Sunday were “two Ukrainian journalists, Dmytro Khyliuk and Mark Kaliush,” as reported by Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War on Telegram. They were described as “illegally detained by the occupiers in 2022 and 2023.”
The press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) celebrated their release, noting they were targeted due to their journalistic activities. “RSF urges that all those responsible for their abduction and the mistreatment they endured while detained be identified and held accountable,” RSF stated to AFP, adding: “The 26 Ukrainian media professionals still in custody of the Kremlin must be liberated.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shared on social media that Khyliuk “was taken in March 2022 in the Kyiv region and is now finally back in Ukraine.”
Also released was Volodymyr Mykolayenko, the former mayor of Kherson, who “had spent over three years in captivity,” as noted by Zelensky’s aide Andriy Yermak on X. Yermak mentioned, “In 2022, he was on the exchange list, but Volodymyr chose not to go in order to allow a seriously ill prisoner, with whom he shared a cell in a Russian prison, to be released instead.”
