Ukraine brings home 175 POWs in Easter Eve swap with Russia
on Google
Editor's note: The story is being updated.
Ukraine has brought back home 175 soldiers and seven civilians held in Russian captivity in its latest exchange with Moscow, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on April 11.
Russia's Defense Ministry also reported releasing 175 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) in exchange for 175 Russian soldiers, adding that seven civilians were also released.
The prisoner exchange occurs a day before Easter, which is observed by Orthodox Christians on April 12.
According to Zelensky, those returned to Ukraine include soldiers taken prisoner during the battle for Mariupol, as well as others captured at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Kyiv Oblast and in various regions, including Donetsk, Kherson, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, and Russia's Kursk oblats.
President's Office Head Kyrylo Budanov said that among those freed were 25 Ukrainian officers, whose release was "an exceptionally difficult task."
Most of those released had been in Russian captivity since 2022, with the youngest being a 22-year-old soldier. The oldest of the freed captives is 63, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported.
Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said that the soldiers returned ti Ukraine are in poor health, have sustained injuries and endure psychological distress.
"We continue working to bring all of our people home. More good news will follow soon," Budanov said.
While trilateral peace talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the U.S. are paused as attention shifts to the Middle East conflict, Kyiv maintains contact with Moscow on prisoner swaps, President's Office Head Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with Ukrinform on April 9.
According to him, the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates helped to carry out the recent swap.
The last exchange took place on March 6.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv has brought back more than 7,000 Ukrainians, Zelensky said. Over 2,500 Ukrainian POWs remained in Russian captivity as of early September, Ukraine's Interior Ministry said.
