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Russia and Ukraine Complete Latest Prisoner Exchange Under Istanbul Deal

The swap on June 20 focused on wounded, ill and under-25 captives without producing a truce in the three-year war

Vladimir Putin is pictured at the 28th Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum SPIEF 2025, June 20, 2025, in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Image
A still image from a video released by the Russian Defence Ministry shows what it said to be Russian service personnel captured by Ukrainian forces and released during the latest exchange of prisoners of war in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, as they pose with Russian flags in front of a bus at an unknown location in Belarus, in this image taken from handout footage released June 20, 2025. Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
A still image from a video released by the Russian Defence Ministry shows what it said to be Russian service personnel captured by Ukrainian forces and released during the latest exchange of prisoners of war in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict, as they board a bus at an unknown location in Belarus, in this image taken from handout footage released June 20, 2025. Russian Defence Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

Overview

  • The operation followed terms agreed on June 2 in Istanbul to free all POWs who are wounded, sick or under 25 years old
  • Neither Moscow nor Kyiv disclosed how many soldiers were released in Friday’s exchange
  • Returned Ukrainian fighters from the Navy, Land Forces, Territorial Defence and Airborne units reunited with families on arrival
  • Exchanged Russian servicemen were sent to Belarus for medical and psychological care before being repatriated to Russia
  • Humanitarian swaps have continued despite stalled ceasefire talks and no pause in front-line fighting