Russia and Ukraine say a significant prisoner swap has begun

In this photograph taken from a video launched by the Russian Defence Ministry press service, Russian servicemen trip a bus after coming back from captivity following an change between Russia and Ukraine, at an undisclosed location in Belarus, Friday, May 23, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

A serious prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine started on Friday (May 23, 2025), the nations stated, in one of many few indicators of progress from their direct talks final week in Istanbul — a part of a U.S.-led effort that thus far has failed to provide a ceasefire within the three-year-old conflict.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated the primary part of the change was bringing house 390 Ukrainians, with additional releases anticipated over the weekend.

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“It’s very important to bring everyone home,” he wrote on Telegram, thanking all who labored to safe their return and pledging to proceed diplomatic efforts to make extra exchanges doable.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence stated both sides had launched 270 navy personnel and 120 civilian detainees. The change is “planned to continue in coming days,” it stated.

In Turkiye final week, Ukraine and Russia agreed to the change of 1,000 prisoners from both sides of their first direct peace talks because the early weeks of Moscow’s 2022 invasion. That assembly lasted solely two hours and introduced no breakthrough in efforts to cease the preventing.

The swap was going down on the border with Belarus in northern Ukraine, in response to a Ukrainian official who spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of he was not licensed to talk publicly.

The launched Russians have been taken to Belarus for medical remedy, the Russian Defence Ministry stated.

The change, which additionally can be the most important swap of Ukrainian civilians at one time, did not seem to herald any halt in preventing.

Russia launched two ballistic missiles at infrastructure within the southern Ukrainian port of Odesa, killing one employee and injuring eight others — 4 critically, in response to regional Gov. Oleh Kiper. It was the primary recorded assault on the port since March 11.

Fighting continues alongside the roughly 1,000-km entrance line, the place tens of 1000’s of troopers have been killed, and neither nation has relented in its deep strikes.

News of the prisoner launch emerged when U.S. President Donald Trump stated Russia and Ukraine had carried out a big change.

“A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine,” Mr. Trump stated on the Truth Social platform. He stated it could “go into effect shortly.”

He added within the publish that “this might result in one thing large???” — apparently referring to different diplomatic efforts to cease the preventing.

After the May 16 talks, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan referred to as the prisoner swap a “confidence-building measure” and stated the events had agreed in precept to fulfill once more.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated Friday that there was no settlement but on the venue for the following spherical of talks as diplomatic maneuvering continued.

European leaders have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his toes in peace efforts whereas he tries to press his bigger military’s battlefield initiative and seize extra Ukrainian land.

The Istanbul assembly revealed each side clearly remained far aside on key situations for ending the preventing. One such situation for Ukraine, backed by its Western allies, is a brief ceasefire as a primary step towards a peaceable settlement.

The Kremlin has pushed again on a brief halt to hostilities, and Putin has stated any such truce should include a freeze on Western arms provides to Ukraine and an finish to Ukraine’s mobilization drive.

A senior Ukrainian official stated in Istanbul that Russia had launched new, “unacceptable demands” to withdraw Ukrainian forces from large swaths of territory. The official, who was not licensed to make official statements, spoke to the AP on situation of anonymity. The proposal had not been beforehand mentioned, the official stated.

Mr. Putin has lengthy demanded as a key situation for a peace deal that Ukraine withdraw its troops from the 4 areas that Russia annexed in September 2022 however by no means absolutely managed.

Mr. Zelenskyy has warned that if Russia continues to reject a ceasefire and make “unrealistic demands,” it’s going to sign deliberate efforts to extend the conflict — a transfer that ought to carry more durable worldwide sanctions.

Russia’s Defense Ministry stated it had shot down 788 Ukrainian drones away from the battlefield between May 20-23.

Ukraine’s air power stated Russia fired 175 Shahed and decoy drones, in addition to a ballistic missile since late Thursday.