A week after American President Donald Trump announced a deal on a new exchange, Russia and Ukraine today proceeded with an exchange of 205 prisoners war from each camp.
In a social media post, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that 205 servicemen “most of whom have been in captivity since 2022” had been returned to Ukraine.
A few minutes earlier, the Russian military had said 205 servicemen had returned today from “territories controlled by Kiev.”
The previous prisoner exchange, with 193 people from each camp, took place on April 24.
Last Friday, Donald Trump announced a three-day ceasefire in the conflict between Kiev and Moscow from last Saturday to Monday, and an exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each camp.
Zelensky confirmed that today’s exchange is the “first phase” of what Donald Trump announced.
The last exchange in the “1,000-for-1,000”format is dated May 2025. It included military and civilians and was decided after direct negotiations in Istanbul. It was one of the few tangible results of those talks, other than the exchange of dead soldiers.
