Yesterday at 20:21
The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has assessed that Ukraine’s operation in the Kursk region is likely encouraging Russia to increasingly participate in prisoner exchanges.
On October 18, Ukraine and Russia conducted a one-to-one prisoner exchange, marking the fourth such exchange since Ukraine’s operation in the Kursk region began in August 2024.
On October 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine had secured the return of 95 prisoners of war. Among those returned were Ukrainian servicemen who defended “Azovstal” in Mariupol in early 2022, members of the Ukrainian National Guard, the State Border Guard Service, and other Ukrainian soldiers.
On October 18, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that 95 Russian prisoners of war had also been returned, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) acting as a mediator in the exchange.
Ukraine’s Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War noted that many of the returned Ukrainian prisoners were suffering from severe illnesses and injuries, and had lost significant weight due to torture and malnutrition while in Russian captivity.
Previously, ISW observed a sharp increase in the frequency of prisoner exchanges between Ukraine and Russia since the start of Ukraine’s operation in the Kursk region on August 6. Both sides had exchanged a total of 267 prisoners each across three separate exchanges.
By comparison, only three prisoner exchanges were conducted between Russia and Ukraine from January 1 to August 6, 2024.
