Ukraine and Russia exchanged 103 prisoners of war from each side on Wednesday, in the latest prisoner exchange between the two countries amid the ongoing war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian servicemen released in the exchange included soldiers who fought in Mariupol, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv and Kherson.
Footage released after their return showed the Ukrainian servicemen speaking with relatives by phone, embracing military officials and receiving Ukrainian flags.
Among those released was Anton Tymofienko, who had been held in captivity for 28 months. Speaking to Reuters, he said prisoners had been largely cut off from information about the outside world and relied mainly on censored letters from relatives.
“The most we received were letters from relatives,” Tymofienko said, explaining that prisoners had little other information about events outside their detention facilities. He added that newly captured prisoners were sometimes questioned about what was happening in the outside world.
Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Oleh Ivashchenko, said Kyiv expects another prisoner exchange before the end of August.
He said the next exchange could include prisoners who have been held for extended periods, as well as Ukrainian servicemen who fought in Mariupol.
The latest swap comes amid continued efforts to secure the release of prisoners held by both sides, with prisoner exchanges remaining one of the few areas in which direct humanitarian arrangements between Kyiv and Moscow have continued despite the broader conflict.
