(Updated: )
Editor's Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Ukraine brought home another 277 soldiers in a major prisoner exchange with Russia ahead of the Easter holiday, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on April 19.
The latest swap was mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
"I thank everyone who made this return of our people possible," Zelensky said. "I am especially grateful to the United Arab Emirates for their mediation."
According to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (POWs), 246 Ukrainian service members were released as part of the exchange with Russia. Another 31 were released outside of the exchange.
Previously, Sky News reported that the Easter swap would involve 246 POWs from each side, as well as 46 injured soldiers.
The soldiers released on April 19 took part in the defense of Mariupol and other parts of Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk oblasts, Zelensky said.
The service members belonged to Ukraine's Armed Forces, National Guard, State Transport Service, and Border Guard Service, but most were from the Marine Corps, especially those taken prisoner in the surrounded city of Mariupol in April 2022.
The returned prisoners include nine officers and 268 privates and sergeants, the Coordination Headquarters reported.
This is the 63rd prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war. The most recent POW exchange between Ukraine and Russia took place on March 19, with 175 Ukrainians brought back home.
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, Kyiv has returned 4,552 people from Russia's captivity, including both soldiers and civilians, according to Zelensky.
Ukraine does not reveal the exact figures on how many Ukrainian POWs are held in Russia. According to Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, Russia holds over 16,000 Ukrainian civilians in detention.
Ukraine floated the idea of an all-for-all prisoner exchange back in 2024, but Russia has not agreed to the proposal.
Anna Fratsyvir
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