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Ukraine and Russia have conducted another prisoner exchange, resulting in the return of 185 Ukrainian service members and one civilian.
The announcement was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, UATV English reports.
Along with the servicemen, one civilian has also been released. Those returning home include personnel from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, including enlisted soldiers, sergeants, and officers.
They defended Ukraine in Mariupol and at Azovstal, as well as on the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kyiv, and Kursk fronts. Some of them had been held in Russian captivity since 2022.
“The return of our people remains an unwavering priority for Ukraine. Every day, we work to bring back every Ukrainian man and woman from captivity,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Efforts to secure the return of all Ukrainians held in captivity are ongoing.
As a reminder, in early May, Ukraine and Russia, with US mediation, agreed to a three-day ceasefire and an exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side. On May 15, part of that agreement was implemented, with another 205 Ukrainians returning from Russian captivity. However, no further exchanges had taken place since then.
Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets previously stated that Russia was delaying preparations for the exchange process.
Meanwhile, Kyrylo Budanov said such delays were “a familiar story,” noting that it was not the first time Russia had failed to fulfill agreements or had implemented them only partially.
