POW swap

Zelenskyy confirms 3-day ceasefire and POW swap

Ukraine will observe the U.S.–mediated ceasefire with Russia on May 9–11, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on May 8.

8 May, 09:58 PM

Kyiv brings home 300 defenders

Ukraine and Russia carried out the second stage of a prisoner exchange on March 6, with another 300 Ukrainian defenders and two civilians returning home, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported, sharing photos of the released prisoners of war (POWs).

6 March, 02:14 PM

First POW swap in months took place in record cold

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.

6 February, 08:09 PM

Zelenskyy: Ukraine working to recover 1,000 POWs from Russia, lists in progress

Ukraine is working with Russia on a potential exchange involving another 1,000 prisoners of war, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a press briefing on Sept. 19, according to Interfax-Ukraine.

20 September 2025, 08:42 PM

No quick reunion with family: what really happens to Russian POWs after exchanges — Coordination HQ

Russian prisoners of war returning home after exchanges face interrogations and redeployment to the front lines, not treatment, rehabilitation, or family reunions, according to Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. The state project I Want to Live, backed by the Defense Ministry and Ukraine’s HUR military intelligence, released the account.

25 August 2025, 02:05 PM

Zelenskyy: Deal reached with Russia on return of 1,200 prisoners, work on lists underway

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine and Russia have reached an agreement to exchange 1,200 prisoners of war following negotiations in Istanbul.

3 August 2025, 04:37 PM

Over 5,800 Ukrainians returned from Russian captivity since full-scale invasion — Zelenskyy

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine has brought home 5,857 people from Russian captivity, with an additional 555 released outside formal exchanges, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on July 28, the Day of Mourning and Commemoration for defenders and civilians who died in captivity.

28 July 2025, 06:12 PM

Ukraine frees severely ill defenders from Russian captivity

Ukraine and Russia conducted a new prisoner exchange, securing the release of a group of Ukrainian defenders, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported on X on June 19.

19 June 2025, 05:25 PM

Ukraine welcomes back released POWs in fourth exchange in one week

Dozens of wounded and gravely ill Ukrainian servicemembers were released and returned home as part of the latest prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia, following talks in Istanbul, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported on Telegram on June 14.

14 June 2025, 08:15 PM

Russia confirms Ukrainian POWs with 4-6 month lag with incomplete lists

Russia confirms Ukrainian prisoners of war to the Red Cross 4-6 months after capture with incomplete lists, Ukraine’s missing persons commissioner Artur Dobroserdov said during the national telethon program on June 13, news agency Interfax Ukraine reported.

13 June 2025, 08:52 PM

Ukraine, Russia conduct new exchange of seriously ill and wounded POWs — first photos

Ukraine and the aggressor state Russia conducted the second stage of a prisoner exchange involving severely wounded and seriously ill servicemembers on June 12, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced.

12 June 2025, 06:07 PM

Russia delays POW list agreed in Istanbul talks — Zelenskyy

Russia has still not submitted the full list of more than 1,000 prisoners of war for the exchange agreed upon in Istanbul, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his evening address on June 8.

9 June 2025, 08:03 AM

Prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia has not taken place — statements from both sides

Ukrainian officials accused Russia of applying pressure and distorting the terms of the agreement, after the head of the Russian delegation at the Istanbul talks, Vladimir Medinsky, claimed that Ukraine had postponed the planned prisoner exchange, according to his Telegram post on June 7.

7 June 2025, 06:49 PM

Ukraine screens returned POWs for Russian ties, no spies found

Ukraine conducts mandatory counterintelligence checks on all citizens freed from Russian captivity to detect potential collaboration with Russian intelligence, with no confirmed cases of espionage found, Andriy Yusov, deputy head of Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, told news agency Ukrinform on June 3.

3 June 2025, 08:30 PM

Rubio pushes Lavrov for peace, hails POW swap

Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a phone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, U.S. Department of State spokesperson Tammy Bruce reported on May 28.

29 May 2025, 08:33 AM

POW swap