Russia exchanges 307 POWs with Ukraine on second day of swap

MOSCOW: Russia and Ukraine exchanged 307 POWs from each country on Saturday, the Russian defence ministry said on the second day of the biggest prisoner swap in more than three years of conflict.

“Another 307 members of the Russian military were returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime. In exchange, 307 Ukrainian prisoners of war were transferred over,” the ministry said in a statement.

It said the Russian POWs would receive psychological and medical help in Belarus before travelling to Russia.

Both sides received 390 people in the first stage on Friday and are expected to exchange 1,000 each in total.

“We expect the exchange to continue tomorrow,” Zelensky said.

Russia has signalled it will send Ukraine its terms for a peace settlement after the swap, which is set to continue over the weekend — without saying what those terms would be.

The two sides have held regular prisoner swaps since Russia launched its 2022 offensive — but none have been on this scale.

An AFP reporter saw some of the formerly captive Ukrainian soldiers arrive at a hospital in the northern Chernigiv region, emaciated but smiling and waving to crowds waiting outside.

After they stepped off the bus, tearful relatives rushed to embrace the soldiers while others held pictures of their loved ones, hoping to find out if they had been seen in captivity.

Russia said it had received 270 Russian troops and 120 civilians, including some from parts of its Kursk region captured and held by Kyiv for months.

US President Donald Trump earlier congratulated the two countries for the swap.

Trump’s efforts to broker a ceasefire in Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II have so far been unsuccessful, despite his pledge to rapidly end the fighting.

One of the soldiers formerly held captive, 58-year-old Viktor Syvak, told AFP it was hard to put words to his emotional homecoming.

Captured in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, he had been held for 37 months and 12 days.

“I didn’t expect such a welcome. It’s impossible to describe. I can’t put it into words. It’s very joyful,” he said.

Diplomatic push

After more than three years of fighting, thousands of POWs are held in both countries.

Russia is believed to have the larger share, with the number of Ukrainian captives held by Moscow estimated to be between 8,000 and 10,000.

Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have stepped up a gear in recent weeks, but the Kremlin has shown no sign it has walked back its maximalist demands for ending the fighting.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has defied European pressure for a full and unconditional truce in Ukraine, pressing on with its offensive, which has left tens of thousands dead.