Russia and Ukraine exchange 270 prisoners of war each; Zelensky says most of those freed defended Mariupol

Russia and Ukraine each released 270 prisoners of war on Friday 23 October, in what Kyiv described as the third stage of an exchange process that began on 19 August, POLITICO reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine brought home 261 military personnel and nine civilians. “Most of those released are warriors who defended Ukraine in Mariupol,” he said, adding that five of them had been believed killed in the attack on the Olenivka detention site in July 2022. “A very important result,” he said. Ukrainian authorities said most of the returned soldiers had been held since 2022, and some since 2018 and 2020.

Russia’s Defence Ministry confirmed the exchange and said the 270 returned Russian servicemen were in Belarus.

Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War thanked the United States and the United Arab Emirates, and “everyone who contributed to the release of Stephen Hubbard”, the 74-year-old American freed by Russia this week.

Background: Russia and Ukraine have carried out regular prisoner exchanges during the war that began with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, often with mediation by the UAE. POLITICO reported that the current process was agreed in May with the help of US President Donald Trump’s administration, and that Zelensky said at the time it would involve about 2,000 prisoners in total. The exchange followed meetings between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Ukrainian officials in Oslo and with Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg this week.