First POW swap in months took place in record cold
Serhiy Okunev / NV
Ukraine and Russia conducted a long-awaited prisoner-of-warexchange on Feb. 5, the first in several months after rumors about the corresponding negotiations had circulated since December 2025.
The exchange became the coldest on record in terms of
weather conditions. In northern Ukraine, where the transfer process took place,
nighttime temperatures dropped to minus -24C (-11F), with daytime temperatures
reaching -13C (7F). By comparison, during the 2024 Christmas POW swap, air temperatures
were about 13C (55F).
Outside the location where released prisoners were brought,
several dozen relatives waited in freezing cold. Families stood for hours
without a confirmed timeline for the exchange: a schedule that, participants
said, may not have been known even to organizers.
A total of 157 Ukrainian service members returned home, many
of whom had been held captive since 2022. Among those released were defenders
of Mariupol, including marines and fighters from the Azov Brigade. Such
releases remain relatively rare, despite Russia previously pledging in 2022 to
return captured Azov fighters.
One of those waiting at the reception point was Olha Kurtmallaeva,
a longtime activist who has attended numerous exchanges while campaigning for
the release of Ukrainian POWs. She has continued her advocacy despite battling stage-four
cancer. At rallies supporting POW freedom, she carried a sign reading: “I have
cancer, and my husband is in captivity. Will we ever see each other again?”
After waiting for more than three years, Kurtmallaeva was
among those who received good news on Feb. 5. Her husband was among the
released prisoners, and she was able to meet him beside the bus in his first
minutes of freedom.
Families gathered at the site also discussed ongoing Ukraine–U.S.–Russia
negotiations. Some expressed hope that continued talks could lead to more
frequent exchanges and the return of prisoners who have been held for more than
three years.
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