Russia and Ukraine have completed the first phase of what is expected to be the biggest prisoner exchange since the start of the war, with almost 800 people released on Friday.
The swap started on Friday and will continue on Saturday and Sunday, with Kyiv and Moscow expected to swap 2,000 people – 1,000 from each side.
The agreement to release 1,000 prisoners on each side was the only significant outcome of the meeting between Kyiv and Moscow in Istanbul last week, which marked the first time the two sides have met directly since soon after Russia’s full-scale unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“We are bringing our people home,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X, adding that 390 people arrived back to Ukraine on Friday.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement that “270 Russian servicemen and 120 civilians” were returned to Russia.
As with previous exchanges, Ukrainian and Russian authorities were not expected to publicly state that it was taking place until after it had been completed. However, US President Donald Trump broke that convention on Friday, announcing the swap on social media as it was unfolding.
The Istanbul meeting was initially proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in response to a ceasefire-or-sanctions ultimatum given to Moscow by Kyiv’s European allies – which many saw as a clear attempt by the Kremlin leader to distract and delay.
But while the return of hundreds of Ukrainian detainees will come as a huge relief to their families and loved ones, it remains somewhat underwhelming as the only tangible outcome of the highly touted meeting.
Prisoner swaps have been happening regularly, most recently earlier this month.
Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, a government department, said the exchange on May 7, which saw more than 200 Ukrainian service members return home, was the fifth swap this year and the 64th since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The department said at the time that at 4,757 Ukrainian citizens have been released since March 2022.
Ukraine and its allies demanded that Russia agree to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Istanbul, but that did not happen.
Kyiv also offered direct talks between Zelensky and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
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