Kyiv brings home 84 Ukrainians from Russian captivity in latest prisoner swap — some held since 2014
Editor's note: The story is being updated.
Ukraine has secured the return of 84 soldiers and civilians from Russian captivity in a fresh prisoner swap with Moscow, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Aug. 14.
The news follows a series of earlier exchanges agreed upon during talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul between May and July.
"Among the civilians released today are those who had been held by the Russians since 2014, 2016, and 2017," Zelensky said. "Among the military (personnel) released today are the defenders of Mariupol."
Almost all of the newly released require medical care and rehabilitation, he added.
Thirty-three military service members and 51 civilians were freed in the latest exchange, Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (POW) said.
These include those captured before the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 and sentenced to prison sentences of up to 18 years. One of the freed Ukrainians spent 4,013 days in Russian captivity, according to the Coordination Headquarters.
Among them are three women from the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts and a man who was imprisoned in 2016 at the age of 18. The youngest released person is 26 years old; the oldest is 74.
Russia has occupied parts of the eastern Donbas region and Crimea since 2014, subjecting their population to political repression and widespread human rights abuses.
Russia's Defense Ministry also confirmed the swap, saying that 84 Russian service members were exchanged for 84 Ukrainian captives.
The exchange takes place only one day before a high-stakes summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, part of Washington's efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
The Ukraine-Russia peace talks earlier this year have failed to achieve a breakthrough in ending the hostilities, but concluded with new agreements on prisoner swaps.
Zelensky announced earlier this month that Ukraine and Russia are preparing to exchange 1,200 POWs in accordance with the third round of peace talks in Istanbul on July 23.
The president also said late in July that Kyiv has secured the release of over 6,400 Ukrainians from Russian captivity since 2022, of whom 5,857 were freed during prisoner exchanges.
