Displaying items by tag: prisoner exchange

On 5 March, Ukraine and Russia exchanged two hundred prisoners of war, with a further exchange of three hundred the next day. The swap, agreed during talks in Geneva in February, marks one of the latest humanitarian steps during the long-running conflict between the two countries. Volodymyr Zelensky said the return of the Ukrainian prisoners brought relief to many families who had waited months or years for news of their loved ones. Images released by officials showed returning soldiers embracing relatives and celebrating their release. Russian authorities also shared footage of their soldiers returning home. Prisoner exchanges have occurred periodically since the war began, offering moments of hope even while efforts to secure a broader peace settlement remain stalled amid disagreements over territory and security guarantees. More recently, Zelensky has claimed that Ukraine has made significant gains in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, and that Russia is losing 35,000 soldiers a month: see https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/11/ukraine-records-first-territorial-gains-since-2023-amid-russian-army-woes

On 3 January Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war, in the biggest such swap since Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. 230 Ukrainian prisoners of war returned to their homes, and a total of 248 Russian servicemen were released from Ukrainian territory, in a deal brokered by the UAE. This is the 49th prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia during the war, Kyiv’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said. Volodymyr Zelensky said that 213 soldiers, eleven officers, and six civilians had been released; he added that negotiations ‘have not ceased for a single moment’. The UAE is among a handful of nations to have maintained close ties with Russia in spite of Putin’s decision to invade a European neighbour, which has otherwise left Russia isolated on the world stage and facing mounting Western and international sanctions.

IS has taken credit for an attack on 8 April on the largest US military base in Afghanistan - Bagram airfield, near Kabul. The attack came as 100 Taliban prisoners were released, as a prerequisite for peace talks. More prisoners should be released near the Bagram base. The government is required to free 5,000 Taliban prisoners, with the Taliban releasing 1,000 members of the Afghan security forces. There is disagreement over the procedure, as to whether senior Taliban commanders would be covered by the deal.