Russia and Ukraine exchange hundreds more prisoners

Yahoo

24-05-2025

Russia and Ukraine have swapped 307 more prisoners each as part of the biggest such exchange since the war began.
Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia's defence ministry confirmed the second prisoner exchange, a day after each side released a total of 390 combatants and civilians.
'Among those who returned today are soldiers from our army, the State Border Service, and the National Guard of Ukraine,' Mr Zelensky said on his official Telegram channel.
'We expect more to come tomorrow,' he added. Russia's defence ministry also said it expected the exchange to be continued, though it did not give details.
Images released by Mr Zelensky's office showed freed Ukrainian service personnel arriving in buses at a rendezvous point inside Ukraine, where they hugged each other and draped themselves in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags.
At least one of the released servicemen was in tears and was being consoled by a woman in military uniform. People assigned to greet the soldiers handed them cellphones, so they could call relatives. 'I can't believe I'm home,' one man said.
A short video released by the Russian defence ministry showed Russian service personnel disembarking from buses and posing with the Russian flag, as well as the flags of the Soviet Union and the Russian empire.
The exchange came hours after Russia launched a major drone and missile attack on Kyiv that left at least 15 people injured.
Overnight, the Kremlin's forces attacked Ukraine with 14 ballistic missiles and 250 Shahed drones, officials said, adding that Ukrainian forces had shot down 6 missiles and neutralised 245 drones.
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A large-scale project is under way in Russian-occupied Crimea to rename schools in honour of Russian 'heroes' who have fought in the war against Ukraine.
Local activists have said that over 200 schools in Crimea have been renamed, according to a report by Krym.Realii (Crimea.Realities).
'The Russian occupation authorities in Simferopol, Sudak, Dzhankoi, Kirovskyi, Rozdolne and Chornomorskyi districts are the most actively involved,' an anonymous source said.
'In Simferopol, the Russian-installed city council decided to rename 27 schools. For example, school number 38 was renamed in honour of Vladislav Dorokhin, a so-called 'hero of the special military operation'. Memorial plaques, memory corners, historical displays and museums are being established in schools, and 'patriotic clubs' are being organised,' they added.
The activist said that Russian authorities aim to expand the project to more schools
Germany may consider reintroducing military conscription from as soon as next year if it does not attract enough volunteers for its armed forces, defence minister Boris Pistorius told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung on Saturday.
Part of the Nato alliance, Germany is looking to enhance its military strength following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but looks likely to fail to attract enough recruits. An additional 100,000 soldiers are needed in the coming years to meet Nato obligations, its armed forces have said.
Its Conservatives, which lead a coalition in which Pistorius' Social Democrats are junior partners, have revved up military spending and signalled openness to a compulsory service in the armed forces, which was abandoned in 2011.
'Our model is initially based on voluntary participation,' Mr Pistorius said in an interview.
'If the time comes when we have more capacity available than voluntary registrations, then we may decide to make it mandatory,' he added.
A new bill to that extent could come into force as soon as January 1, 2026, he said.
Russia will send Kyiv its proposals for a memorandum to resolve the war in Ukraine 'in the coming days', according to Konstantin Kosachev, the deputy chairman of the Russian Federation Council.
'Work on the memorandum is underway. Firstly, it is in the final stage. Secondly, I expect that Russia's proposals will be sent to the Ukrainian side in the coming days. I have this information,' said Kosachev, reported by the RBC, a Kremlin-aligned Russian news outlet.
Russian troops have executed Ukrainian prisoners more than 150 times, Kyiv's military intelligence agency said on Saturday.
The agency reported multiple instances in which Russian troops received 'direct orders to kill' prisoners of war, and said there had been a sharp rise in executions since 2024.
According to intelligence officials, these acts are 'not isolated incidents' but part of a deliberate and systematic policy of the Russian leadership.
In March, the United Nations also reported increasing numbers of cases in which Russian forces deliberately killed or maimed Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered or attempted to surrender.
The agency's statement came hours after Russia and Ukraine completed the first stage of a prisoner exchange which, if completed, would be the biggest swap since the start of the conflict.
Both sides received 390 people in the first stage and are expected to exchange 1,000 each in total over the coming days.
Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed that another 307 prisoners of war have been returned to Ukraine.
'Another 307 Ukrainian defenders are home. Today is the second day of the 1,000-for-1,000 exchange that we managed to negotiate in Türkiye. In just these two days, 697 people have been brought home. We expect the process to continue tomorrow,' Mr Zelensky wrote on social media.
'Among those who returned today are warriors from our Armed Forces, the State Border Guard Service, the National Guard of Ukraine,' he added.
The European Union is considering disconnecting more than 20 banks from SWIFT, the international payment system, and lowering the price ceiling on Russian oil and banning the Nord Stream gas pipelines as part of a new package of sanctions aimed at increasing pressure on Moscow to end the war against Ukraine, Bloomberg has reported.
The EU is also weighing additional transaction bans on about two dozen banks and some €2.5 billion ($2.84 billion) worth of fresh trade restrictions.
The European Commission is consulting member states over the plans, according to people familiar with the matter. EU sanctions require the backing of all member states.
Russia and Ukraine have swapped 307 prisoners of war with each other, the Russian defence ministry said on Saturday.
'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.
The exchange will continue, the ministry added.
Volodymyr Zelensky has described a 'difficult night for all of Ukraine' after Russia launched a 'massive' overnight attack involving 250 strike drones and 14 ballistic missiles.
'The Odesa, Vinnytsia, Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kyiv, Dnipro regions suffered damages. All strikes targeted civilians. There are fatalities. My condolences to the families and loved ones,' the Ukrainian president said.
Russian troops have captured the settlements of Stupochki, Otradne and Loknia in Ukraine's Donetsk and Sumy regions, the Russian defence ministry said on Saturday.
The reports could not be immediately verified.
Russia attacked the port infrastructure of Odesa last night, the Odesa Oblast prosecutor's office said, and an investigation has been launched.
'Under the procedural guidance of the Odesa regional prosecutor's office, a pre-trial investigation has been launched into the fact of committing war crimes,' the office said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that new international sanctions were needed to force Russia to agree a ceasefire, after Russian drone and missile strikes on Kyiv overnight injured 15 people.
'Only additional sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy will force Moscow to cease fire,' he said on X, adding that 'the cause of prolonging the war lies in Moscow'.
The overnight attack on Kyiv came hours after Russia and Ukraine began a major prisoner exchange of hundreds of soldiers and civilians, the first phase of a swap agreed on by the two sides at a meeting in Istanbul last week.
Volodymyr Zelensky said the first phase of the deal brought home 390 Ukrainians, with further releases expected over the weekend, which will make it the largest swap of the war. Russia's defence ministry said it received the same number of people from Ukraine.
The swap took place at the border with Belarus, in northern Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian official.
The released Russians were taken to Belarus for medical treatment, the Russian defence ministry said.
Russia launched dozens of attack drones and ballistic missiles at Kyiv overnight in one of the biggest combined aerial attacks on the Ukrainian capital of the three-year war, damaging several apartment buildings and injuring 15 people.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in a social media post it had been a 'tough night' for Ukraine, and called for new international sanctions to pressure Moscow into agreeing to a ceasefire.
The Kyiv city military administration and the police reported damage in six districts of the Ukrainian capital, and a total so far of 15 people wounded.
Russia attacked Ukraine with 14 ballistic missiles and 250 Shahed drones, officials said, adding that Ukrainian forces shot down 6 missiles and neutralised 245 drones — 128 drones were shot down and 117 were thwarted using electronic warfare.
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