"We will see if the Russian side keeps its word. If they do, Ukrainian society will notice the systematic nature in terms of quantity, timing, and categories [of prisoners returning home]," Ukraine's ombudsman said.
Over the past year, Ukraine conducted 11 prisoner exchanges and secured the return of 356 more people than in 2023.
Key developments on Dec. 30: * Ukraine brings back 189 people from Russian captivity in prisoner swap * Biden announces $2.5 billion security assistance package for Ukraine * Russian military suffers 427,000 casualties in 2024, Syrskyi claims * Russia launched over 1,300 drone strikes, 250 missiles at Kyiv in 2024 Ukraine
The Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (POWs) called it one of the largest prisoner exchanges since the start of the full-scale war in 2022.
The U.S. government has officially classified Marc Fogel, an American schoolteacher jailed in Russia on drug charges, as wrongfully detained, the State Department announced on Dec. 27.
“It was at the start of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ military operation in Kursk Oblast. I believe the Kursk operation provided strong arguments in favor of Ukraine,” Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said.
The Hungarian side "did not discuss anything" with Ukraine and "did not warn about its contacts with Moscow," said Dmytro Lytvyn, the presidential communications adviser, referring to Viktor Orban’s recent phone call with Vladimir Putin.
Russia will "definitely be prepared to consider" a prisoner exchange, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told NBC News, adding that a potential exchange could mark "a healthy step forward, especially at the beginning of the next (U.S.) administration."
"Ukraine is not delaying and did not delay the exchanges, but on the contrary, declared its readiness to repatriate seriously injured and seriously ill prisoners by creating a mixed medical commission," Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said.
Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said on Nov. 3 that Ukraine remains willing to receive its citizens and blamed Russia for slowing down the exchanges.
"Yesterday morning, after the inspection, they told me that I was leaving in half an hour, but they didn't tell me where. ... We found out about the exchange by accident on the way."
The returned prisoners also reportedly included some mobilized Russian fighters and contract soldiers, including kadyrovtsy, the notoriously ruthless troops named for Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov.
Ukraine and Russia on Oct. 18 conducted their 58th prisoner exchange, involving 190 prisoners of war, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced.
This article contains descriptions of physical and sexual violence, which may be disturbing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised. Forced nudity during “welcome beatings,” naked “crouch walking,” and gratuitous stripping and body cavity searches are but a few examples of the abuse Viktor Lakhno, 26, a former prisoner of
"The vast majority of those released are people who had been held (in captivity) since the first days of the war,” said Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets in a statement.
Ukraine brought back 49 Ukrainian defenders and civilians from Russian captivity on Sept. 13, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Azov Regiment commander Denys Prokopenko criticized the recent prisoner exchange, expressing disappointment that none of the Azov fighters, who have been in Russian captivity for over two years, were included.
Among those brought back were soldiers from the National Guard, army, navy, and the State Border Guard Service.
"If you want to help the Russian opposition and Russian society and Russia as a whole, save Ukraine from Putin," Ilya Yashin said in a livestream shortly after his release in a historic prisoner exchange.
At a Georgia rally on Aug. 3, Donald Trump congratulated Russian dictator Vladimir Putin for the historic prisoner exchange arranged by U.S. President Joe Biden that freed 16 people wrongfully imprisoned in Russia, including the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference in Bonn, Germany, Yashin said he had fought against being released, as a life in exile would effectively end his political opposition work in Russia.
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko pardons German citizen facing death penalty in Belarus as part of a major prisoner swap between Moscow, Washington and Berlin. Security concerns prompt the European Commission to ask Hungary to clarify its decision to ease immigration requirements for Russian and Belarusian citizens. Lukashenko meets Vladimir Putin
The historic Aug. 1 prisoner swap was a "win for Putin," Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump claimed during an interview with Fox Business on Aug. 2.
A German court sentenced Vadim Krasikov to life imprisonment in 2021 for the murder of Zelimkhan "Tornike" Khangoshvili in 2019.
The Kremlin was ready to start talks as early as February 2022 after the arrest of American basketball player Brittney Griner, who was jailed for nine years for possession of a vape with hashish oil, Reuters wrote, citing U.S. officials.
Freed U.S. prisoners arrived in D.C. during the late hours of Aug.1, where they were greeted by U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
"We see those operating on the separate tracks. One is really about the practical issue of producing this exchange. The other is a much more complex question where the Ukrainians will be in the lead and the United States will consult closely with all of our allies to support them when they are prepared to step forward and engage in that kind of diplomacy," U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said.
Kremlin's assassin, Vadim Krasikov, has been imprisoned in Germany since 2021 after being given a life sentence for murdering Zelimkhan Khangoshvili.
"We had been working with our partners on a deal that would have included Alexei Navalny. Unfortunately, he died," Sullivan said.
Russian activists, journalists, and dual citizens are among those who have been freed.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan are being released by Russia in a multi-country prisoner exchange, Bloomberg reported on Aug. 1, citing undisclosed sources.
"We are talking about people who do not consider Ukraine, European democratic values, or our state constitution theirs, but consider the aggressor state, Russia, their country. And they want to get there," Ukraine's military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov said.
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