Russia and Ukraine conducted the biggest prisoners exchange after US mediation

Russia and Ukraine on Friday began the first phase of a large prisoner exchange involving 270 military personnel and 120 civilians, announced earlier by US President Donald Trump.

On May 16, the Russians and Ukrainians agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners from each side during talks in Istanbul, the first direct talks between them since 2022, but without reaching a truce.

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov clarified on Friday that Moscow is working on a document outlining the terms of a sustainable, comprehensive, and long-term settlement to the conflict, to be delivered to Ukraine after the prisoner exchange is completed.

The two sides announced on Friday the exchange of 390 people from each side, in the “first phase of the 1,000-for-1,000+ exchange agreement,” according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

It’s worth noting that, the prisoners exchange will continue on Saturday and Sunday.

“It’s important to recover all prisoners,” Zelensky said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said via Telegram, “270 Russian servicemen and 120 civilians, including civilians from the Kursk region captured by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, have returned from territories controlled by the Kyiv regime… In return, 270 prisoners of war from the Ukrainian Armed Forces and 120 civilians were handed over”.

Ukraine has recovered the same number of military and civilian personnel, including soldiers from the Navy, Airborne Forces, Ground Forces, National Guard, and Border Guard, according to authorities.

Earlier Friday, President Donald Trump announced a major prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia, congratulating both countries.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social, “Congratulations to both sides on these negotiations… Does this lead to anything important?”

Both countries are holding thousands of prisoners of war as a result of the ongoing fighting that has lasted for more than three years, but their exact number is unknown.

“We’ve confirmation that there are approximately 10,000 prisoners held by Russia,” said Ukrainian Commissioner for Missing Persons Artur Dobroserdov last April.

A senior Ukrainian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to AFP that Russia provides very little information about the fate of Ukrainian prisoners, and that every exchange brings surprises.

“In almost every exchange, there are people about whom no one knows anything… Sometimes they return to us people who are listed as missing or presumed dead,” he added.

Kyiv and Moscow trade accusations of violating the Geneva Convention, which sets out the rules for the treatment of prisoners of war.

The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office on Friday accused the Russian military of executing approximately 270 prisoners of war since the start of its invasion in February 2022, asserting that this was the result of directions from senior officials.

In a report published in March, Amnesty International denounced the systematic torture and denial of medical care of Ukrainian prisoners in Russia.

Russia recently returned the body of Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna, who died in detention.