Ukraine and Russia conducted their fourth prisoner of war exchange in a week, following agreements made in Istanbul earlier this month.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the swap on social media, stating, “We continue to take our people out of Russian captivity.”
Russia’s defence ministry said another group of Russian servicemen was returned from territory controlled by Kyiv. Kyiv also received another batch of 1,200 unidentified bodies from Russia, claimed to be Ukrainian citizens, including military personnel, as part of the Istanbul agreements. Ukraine did not specify whether it returned any bodies to Russia.
Photos shared by Zelensky showed men in camouflage, some injured, draped in Ukrainian flags, interacting with those welcoming them. Moscow’s defence ministry released footage of Russian soldiers celebrating the exchange.
The swap occurred amid ongoing Russian offensives, especially in the northeastern Sumy region, where Russia aims to create a buffer zone to protect its Kursk region. Zelensky stated that Russian advances in Sumy had been stopped and that Ukrainian forces had retaken a village. He also claimed Russia was deploying 53,000 troops in the Sumy operation.
