Stand behind Ukrainian independent journalism when it’s needed most. Help us reach 20,000 members.

Skip to content
Illustrative image: A group of Russian POWs lined up towards th stairs in a detention facility in western Ukraine on April 18, 2023. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Ukraine is open to considering an all-for-all prisoner of war (POW) exchange, and will discuss the idea at the upcoming Peace Summit in Switzerland in June, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 3.

"It's desired that we swap all-for-all. All reasonable countries support this route," Zelensky told recruits while speaking at the National Academy of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. "We are conducting exchanges, but they are slower than we would like."

The last reported prisoner exchange occurred on Feb. 8 with 100 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) returned from Russian captivity. Before that on Jan. 3, 230 prisoners were exchanged in the largest prisoner exchange since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Previously, Moscow had gone months without a POW exchange, refusing to continue the practices in an alleged effort to turn Ukrainian families of POWs against their own authorities.

Zelensky said that despite some skeptics believing that an all-for-all was only possible after the end of the war, he hoped that there was "an opportunity to try to make this happen earlier," pointing towards the upcoming peace summit which is being held on June 15-16.

Zelensky noted that Ukraine has three priorities for the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland: energy and nuclear security, free navigation of the Black and Azon seas, and the humanitarian issues of an all-for-all POW exchanges, as well as returning Ukrainian children who have been forcefully deported to Russia.

Russia, the aggressor in the ongoing war, will not be invited to the Peace Summit "at this stage," the Swiss government announced on May 3.

Presidential Office: Joint negotiating position to be submitted to Russia after Switzerland peace summit
Participants of the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland will formulate a common negotiating position and submit it to Russia, presidential spokesperson Sergii Nykyforov said on May 3, according to Deutsche Welle.


Independent journalism needs a community —
not a paywall.

We’re working hard to show the world the truth of Russia’s brutal war — and we’re keeping it free for everyone, because reliable information should be available to all.

Our goal: reach 20,000 members to prove independent journalism can survive without paywalls, billionaires, or compromise. Will you help us do it?

Can we reach 20,000 members?

News Feed

11:51 PM

Trump 'very surprised, disappointed' at Russian attacks on Ukraine amid peace talks.

"I've gotten to see things I was very surprised at. Rockets being shot into cities like Kyiv during a negotiation that was maybe very close to ending," Trump said during a news conference in the Oval Office. "All of a sudden rockets got shot into a couple of cities and people died. I saw thing I was surprised at and I don't like being surprised, so I'm very disappointed in that way."
5:10 PM

All territory will revert to Ukraine, predicts US diplomat.

The Kyiv Independent’s Chris York sits down with Michael Carpenter, former U.S. Ambassador to OSCE and senior director for Europe at the National Security Council, to discuss the current lagging U.S. military support for Ukraine amid the ongoing ceasefire talks with Russia. Carpenter also offers his predictions for the future of Ukraine’s occupied territories.
10:10 AM

Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 7, injure 39 over past day.

Ukrainian forces downed 26 out of the 90 drones, including Shahed-type attack drones, launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported. Thirty drones were intercepted by electronic warfare or disappeared from radars without causing any damage, according to the statement.
9:21 AM

NATO expansion 'fair' concern for Putin, Kellogg says.

"And that's one of the issues Russia will bring up... They're also talking about Georgia, they're talking about Moldova, they're talking — obviously — about Ukraine. And we're saying, 'Okay, let's address this comprehensively,'" U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Envoy Keith Kellogg said.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.