Russia and Ukraine each exchanged 307 service members on Saturday, marking the second day of what will be the largest prisoner of war (POW) swap in their three-year war.
U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested the prisoner swap – which should see 1,000 prisoners released on each side over three days – could herald a new phase in stop-start efforts to negotiate a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv.
Saturday’s swap was announced by Russia’s defence ministry, and separately by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a post on the social media platform Telegram.
More Swap Likely
“Tomorrow we expect more,” Zelenskyy wrote. “Our goal is to return each and every one of us from Russian captivity.”
Images released by Zelenskyy’s office showed freed Ukrainian service personnel arriving in buses at a rendezvous point inside Ukraine, where they hugged each other and draped themselves in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags.
At least one of the released servicemen was in tears and was being consoled by a woman in military uniform.
POW Swap First Day
The first part of the exchange took place on Friday when Russia and Ukraine each released 390 prisoners, including 120 civilians, and said they would free more in the coming days.
On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia would be ready to hand Ukraine a draft document outlining conditions for a long-term peace agreement once the current prisoner exchange was completed.
Russian Bombardment Targets Kyiv
Saturday’s release took place a few hours after the Ukrainian capital was rocked by an overnight Russian bombardment using long-range drones and ballistic missiles, in which 15 people were injured.
The prisoner exchange was agreed at short-lived talks in Istanbul on May 16 between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, who had come together at the urging of Trump.
(With inputs from Reuters)
