A significant prisoner exchange took place Friday between Ukraine and Russia, with each nation releasing 193 captured military personnel in a deal brokered with assistance from the United States and United Arab Emirates.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed satisfaction with the swap in a Telegram message, stating: “It is important that there are exchanges and that our people are returning home.”
Both Kyrylo Budanov, Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, and Russia’s defense ministry confirmed that American and UAE officials helped coordinate the prisoner transfer.
This exchange represents the latest in a series of captive swaps that have occurred throughout the four-year conflict, with both countries having traded thousands of prisoners during the war.
According to Zelenskiy, the freed Ukrainian personnel included military members, border patrol agents, and police officers. Some returnees sustained wounds during their captivity, while others had been facing criminal prosecution in Russia.
Emotional scenes unfolded as the released Ukrainians disembarked from transport vehicles, with many wrapped in Ukrainian flags and visibly moved by their return.
One returning soldier named Serhiy, who provided only his first name, described his feelings upon release: “It still hasn’t sunk in that I’m home, I was in captivity for three years … our Ukrainian sky, our trees — this is happiness.”
