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Historic Exchange: Ukraine and Russia Swap Soldiers Amid Ongoing Peace Efforts

June 29, 2025

Historic Exchange: Ukraine and Russia Swap Soldiers Amid Ongoing Peace Efforts

On Thursday, Ukraine and Russia carried out a prisoner exchange involving captured soldiers, marking the latest such swap since their direct peace discussions in Istanbul earlier this month.

“Today, members of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, and the State Border Guard Service are returning to their homeland,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media, posting photos of joyful soldiers wrapped in Ukrainian flags.

According to Ukraine’s POW coordination headquarters, most of the freed Ukrainians had been imprisoned for over three years, with many captured during the fierce siege of Mariupol in 2022.

In a statement, Russia’s Defense Ministry indicated that their troops had been sent to Belarus, where they are receiving psychological and medical assistance.

“Another group of Russian soldiers has been returned from territories controlled by the Kyiv regime,” the ministry announced, along with a video showing uniformed personnel covered in Russian flags chanting “Russia!”

Neither country provided figures regarding the number of troops exchanged.

During their last in-person talks on June 2, Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange a minimum of 1,000 prisoners each, although no further negotiations have been reported since then.

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