Overview

• Kyiv reported the return of 185 soldiers and 20 civilians, while Russia said the exchange involved 185 Ukrainian POWs for 185 Russian soldiers.
• Those released include defenders captured in Mariupol at the Azovstal steel plant and personnel taken at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
• Most returnees had been held since 2022, with ages ranging from 26 to 59, according to Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
• President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 7,000 Ukrainians have been repatriated since the full-scale invasion, and the Interior Ministry counts over 2,500 POWs still in Russian custody.
• The exchange follows a series of swaps linked to Istanbul talks, as Ukrainian prosecutors continue to document abuses in captivity, including at least 273 POW executions reported in July.