Ukraine, Russia begin massive prisoner swap

AFP | Washington

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Ukraine and Russia began a major prisoner exchange yesterday, which if completed would be the biggest swap since Moscow invaded more than three years ago.

Both sides received 390 people in the first stage yesterday, and are expected to exchange 1,000 each in total under an agreement reached at direct talks in Istanbul last week.

The process is set to last three days, Kyiv said.

The enemies have held regular exchanges since Russia launched its 2022 attack — but none have been of this scale.

“The first stage of the ‘1,000-for-1,000’ exchange agreement has been carried out,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on X.

“Today — 390 people. On Saturday and Sunday, we expect the exchange to continue.”

Russia said it had received 270 Russian troops and 120 civilians, including some from parts of the Kursk region that were captured and held by Kyiv for months.

The two sides have not yet revealed the identities of those exchanged.

US President Donald Trump earlier congratulated the two countries for the swap.

“This could lead to something big???” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Trump’s efforts to broker a ceasefire in Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II have thus far been unsuccessful, despite his pledge to rapidly end the fighting.

After 39 months of fighting, thousands of POWs are held in both countries.

Russia is believed to have the larger share, with the number of Ukrainian captives held by Moscow estimated to be between 8,000 and 10,000.

Kyiv and Moscow have both accused each other of violating the Geneva Convention on the treatment of POWs, with the UN saying prisoners on both sides have been “subjected to torture and ill-treatment.”

Shortly before the exchange, Kyiv released a statement accusing the Russian army of executing around 270 Ukrainian POWs since its invasion.