ISTANBUL, May 26 – Russia and Ukraine on Sunday confirmed the completion of the third and final round of a large-scale prisoner swap, conducted under an agreement brokered in Istanbul earlier this month, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported.
In a statement, the Russian Defence Ministry said that 303 Russian servicemen had been returned by Ukraine, in exchange for 303 Ukrainian soldiers repatriated to Kyiv.
The ministry added that the released Russian personnel are currently in Belarus, where they are receiving psychological and medical assistance, before being transferred back to Russia for further treatment and rehabilitation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also confirmed the exchange in a post on the X platform, thanking his team for working “around the clock to successfully carry out this exchange.”
“We will definitely bring every single one of our people back from Russian captivity,” he said.
The large-scale exchange was agreed during the first direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in three years, held in Istanbul on May 16 and facilitated by Turkiye.
The deal involved a total of 1,000 prisoners from each side, with ongoing negotiations towards a possible truce.
Prior to Sunday’s exchange, two rounds had already taken place under the agreement, involving 390 and 307 prisoners from each side, respectively, over the past two days.
