Ukraine brings home over 200 POWs, civilians in another swap with Russia
Ukraine has brought back home 185 soldiers and 20 civilians held in Russian captivity in its latest exchange with Moscow, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Oct. 2.
Russia's Defense Ministry also reported releasing 185 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) in exchange for 185 Russian soldiers, adding that "20 civilians were also released."
According to Zelensky, those returned to Ukraine include soldiers taken prisoner during the battle for Mariupol, including at the Azovstal steel plant, as well as others captured at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Kyiv Oblast.
Most of those released had been in Russian captivity since 2022, with the youngest being a 26-year-old soldier. The oldest of the freed captives is 59, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said.
The news follows a series of other swaps carried out in recent months, in accordance with the Russian-Ukrainian peace talks held in Istanbul between May and July.
The last exchange took place on Aug. 24, Ukraine's Independence Day.
Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly exchanged captives during the full-scale war, with the recent major swaps seen as the only tangible results of the Istanbul talks.
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 remain in Russian captivity, Ukraine's Interior Ministry said on Sept. 5.
Russia has been accused of violating international law, including the Geneva Conventions, by the abuse and torture of Ukrainian POWs and captive civilians. The Prosecutor General's Office reported in July that at least 273 POWs have been executed by Russia while in captivity.
Asami Terajima
