Ukrainian servicemen meet with their relatives after being released from Russian captivity at an undisclosed location on 6 May 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE/STRINGER
Moscow and Kyiv have exchanged 270 prisoners of war and 120 civilians each on the first day of a major prisoner swap set to continue over the next two days, the Russian Defence Ministry announced on Friday.
The report followed an announcement by US President Donald Trump, who said a “major” prisoner exchange had taken place on Friday. “Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big???”, Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The Russian Defence Ministry has confirmed that the Friday swap was part of the “1,000-for-1,000” prisoner exchange that Moscow and Kyiv agreed to following discussions in Istanbul, in what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described as “perhaps the only real result” of their first head-to-head talks in years.
Commenting on the swap, Zelensky wrote on Telegram, “We are bringing our people home. The first part of the 1000-for-1000 exchange has been implemented. … Today it was 390 people, and we expect the exchange to continue on Saturday and Sunday. Thank you to everyone who … works 24/7 to ensure that Ukrainians return home. It is very important to return everyone who is in captivity.”
Released Ukrainian PoWs, 23 May 2025. Photo: Volodymyr Zelensky, Telegram
Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-appointed official in the occupied part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, said on his Telegram channel earlier on Friday that the swap would take place over three days from Friday to Sunday. However, the Russian Defence Ministry did not confirm that the exchange would continue this weekend, only saying it was due to carry on “in the coming days”.
On Monday, Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov confirmed that agreement and stressed the process would be “complex and sensitive” and require “precise coordination”. Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Moscow had received a list from Kyiv of prisoners who could be exchanged.
Several prisoner swaps have taken place since the full-scale war began, though the agreed-upon “1,000-for-1,000” exchange would mark the largest such exchange in the last three years.
