Ukraine and Russia Conduct Fourth POW Swap in a Week

Ukraine and Russia carried out their fourth prisoner exchange this week under agreements reached earlier this month during talks in Istanbul, both sides said Saturday.

“We continue to take our people out of Russian captivity. This is the fourth exchange in a week,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that “another group of Russian servicemen was returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime,” in accordance with the agreements.

Ukraine also said it had received another 1,200 unidentified bodies from Russia. According to Kyiv, Moscow claimed the remains were those of Ukrainian citizens, including military personnel.

Ukraine did not say whether it had returned any bodies to Russia.

Photos published by Zelensky showed freed Ukrainian soldiers draped in national flags, some injured, some smiling or making phone calls. Others were seen disembarking from buses and embracing people who came to greet them.

Russia’s Defense Ministry released its own footage of uniformed men holding Russian flags, chanting “Russia,” “Glory to Russia” and “Hooray,” with some raising their fists.

The latest exchange came as Russia intensified its offensive along the front line, particularly in the northeastern Sumy region, where it says it is trying to establish a “buffer zone” to shield its nearby Kursk region.

Zelensky claimed that Russia’s advance in Sumy had been halted and said Ukrainian forces had retaken one village. He estimated that Russia had deployed 53,000 troops in the operation.