Russia and Ukraine Swap Hundreds of Prisoners in First Phase of a Major Exchange
The Associated Press
A Ukrainian serviceman Alexander, 45, hugs his wife Elena, 39, after returning from captivity during a POWs exchange between Russia and Ukraine, in Chernyhiv region, Ukraine, Friday, May 23, 2025.
CHERNIHIV REGION, Ukraine (AP) — Russia and Ukraine began a major prisoner exchange Friday, swapping hundreds of soldiers and civilians in the first phase of an exchange that was a moment of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to reach a ceasefire in the 3-year-old war.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the first phase brought home 390 Ukrainians, including soldiers and civilians, with further releases expected over the weekend that will make it the largest swap of the war. Russia's Defense Ministry said it received the same number from Ukraine.
'It's very important to bring everyone home,' Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram, thanking all who worked to secure their return and pledging to continue diplomatic efforts to make more exchanges possible.
Dozens of relatives of prisoners cheered and chanted 'Thank you!' as buses carrying the freed captives arrived at a medical facility in Ukraine's Chernihiv region. The men, some with expressionless faces and others unable to contain their emotions, got off the buses wrapped in Ukrainian flags for joyful reunions.
Kyiv and Moscow agreed in Istanbul last week to the exchange of 1,000 prisoners from each side in their first direct peace talks since the early weeks of Russia's 2022 invasion. That meeting lasted only two hours and brought no breakthrough in U.S.-led efforts efforts to stop the fighting.
Exchanges at the Belarus-Ukrainian border
The swap took place at the border with Belarus in northern Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
The released Russians were taken to Belarus for medical treatment, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The exchange, which would be the latest of dozens of swaps since the war began and the biggest involving Ukrainian civilians at one time, didn't herald any halt in fighting.
Battles continued along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where tens of thousands of soldiers have been killed, and neither country has relented in its deep strikes.
Russia launched two ballistic missiles at infrastructure targets in the southern Ukrainian port of Odesa, killing two workers and injuring eight others, according to regional Gov. Oleh Kiper. It was the first recorded attack on the port since March 11.
Moscow's forces attacked settlements in the Kherson region with artillery, mortars and drones throughout the day, killing three civilians and injuring 10, according to the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office.
They also shelled Kostyantynivka with artillery, killing one civilian, said Serhii Horbunov, head of the city's military administration.
Emotional reunions for some, but others must wait
As the freed men entered the medical facility, people holding signs and photos of their relatives shouted names or brigade numbers, seeking any news of a loved one. The returning men inspected the photos, and a serviceman said he shared a cell with one of those on the sea of portraits held out toward him.
'Vanya!' cried Nataliia Mosych, among the gathered relatives, 'My husband!'
She hadn't seen her husband, Ivan, for almost two years, she said, beaming.
'It is an unbelievable feeling. I am still in shock,' Mosych said after he came outside to greet his family following registration procedures inside the facility. 'I am really glad, and we were not forgotten, and we still mean something for Ukraine.'
Many who were freed expressed shock and disbelief that they had been exchanged. Some had trouble remembering names and details of their lives before their capture.
One released POW joked in a video call with his girlfriend that he got a bit older in his three-year absence, and she replied he was as beautiful as ever.
Many relatives wept when it became clear their loved ones were not among those returning, and they hoped those who were released could at least offer some information about their husbands, brothers and sons.
'Maybe my dad will come tomorrow,' one small boy cried.
News of the prisoner release emerged when U.S. President Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine had carried out a large exchange.
'A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine,' Trump said on the Truth Social platform. He said it would 'go into effect shortly.'
He added in the post that 'this could lead to something big???' — apparently referring to other diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting.
No new Russia-Ukraine talks are set
After the May 16 talks, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called the prisoner swap a 'confidence-building measure' and said the parties had agreed in principle to meet again.
But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that there has been no agreement yet on the venue for the next round of talks as diplomatic maneuvering continued.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday night that Moscow would give Ukraine a draft document outlining its conditions for a 'sustainable, long-term, comprehensive' peace agreement once the ongoing prisoner exchange had finished.
European leaders have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts while he tries to press his larger army's battlefield initiative and capture more Ukrainian land.
The Istanbul meeting revealed that both sides remained far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting. One such condition for Ukraine, backed by its Western allies, is a temporary ceasefire as a first step toward a peaceful settlement.
The Kremlin has pushed back on a temporary halt to hostilities, and Putin has said any such truce must come with a freeze on Western arms supplies to Ukraine and an end to Ukraine's mobilization drive.
A senior Ukrainian official said in Istanbul that Russia had introduced new, 'unacceptable demands' to withdraw Ukrainian forces from huge swaths of territory. The official, who was not authorized to make official statements, spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The proposal had not been previously discussed, the official said.
Putin has long demanded as a key condition for a peace deal that Ukraine withdraw its troops from the four regions that Russia annexed in September 2022 but never fully controlled.
Zelenskyy has warned that if Russia continues to reject a ceasefire and make 'unrealistic demands,' it will signal deliberate efforts to prolong the war — a move that should bring tougher international sanctions.
Russia's Defense Ministry said it had shot down 788 Ukrainian drones away from the battlefield between May 20 and May 23.
Ukraine's air force said Russia fired 175 Shahed and decoy drones, as well as a ballistic missile since late Thursday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Mainichi
3 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Musk threatens to withdraw Dragon spacecraft, a key space station link for NASA
(AP) -- As President Donald Trump and Elon Musk argued on social media on Thursday, the world's richest man threatened to decommission a space capsule used to take astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station. After Trump threatened to cut government contracts given to Musk's SpaceX rocket company and his Starlink internet satellite services, Musk responded via X that SpaceX "will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately." It's unclear how serious Musk's threat was. But the capsule, developed with the help of government contracts, is an important part of keeping the space station running. NASA also relies heavily on SpaceX for other programs including launching science missions and, later this decade, returning astronauts to the surface of the moon. The Dragon capsule SpaceX is the only U.S. company capable right now of transporting crews to and from the space station, using its four-person Dragon capsules. Boeing's Starliner capsule has flown astronauts only once; last year's test flight went so badly that the two NASA astronauts had to hitch a ride back to Earth via SpaceX in March, more than nine months after launching last June. Starliner remains grounded as NASA decides whether to go with another test flight with cargo, rather than a crew. SpaceX also uses a Dragon capsule for its own privately run missions. The next one of those is due to fly next week on a trip chartered by Axiom Space, a Houston company. Cargo versions of the Dragon capsule are also used to ferry food and other supplies to the orbiting lab. NASA's other option: Russia Russia's Soyuz capsules are the only other means of getting crews to the space station right now. The Soyuz capsules hold three people at a time. For now, each Soyuz launch carries two Russians and one NASA astronaut, and each SpaceX launch has one Russian on board under a barter system. That way, in an emergency requiring a capsule to return, there is always someone from the U.S. and Russian on board. With its first crew launch for NASA in 2020 -- the first orbital flight of a crew by a private company -- SpaceX enabled NASA to reduce its reliance on Russia for crew transport. The Russian flights had been costing the U.S. tens of millions of dollars per seat, for years. NASA has also used Russian spacecraft for cargo, along with U.S. contractor Northrup Grumman. SpaceX's other government launches The company has used its rockets to launch several science missions for NASA as well as military equipment. Last year, SpaceX also won a NASA contract to help bring the space station out of orbit when it is no longer usable. SpaceX's Starship mega rocket is what NASA has picked to get astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface of the moon, at least for the first two landing missions. Starship made its ninth test flight last week from Texas, but tumbled out of control and broke apart.
The Mainichi
4 hours ago
- The Mainichi
North Korea says it has raised a capsized destroyer upright as it continues repair
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea said Friday it had righted a capsized destroyer and moored it at a pier in the northeastern port of Chongjin as it continues to repair the new warship leader Kim Jong Un has described as a significant asset for his nuclear-armed military. The report by North Korean state media aligned with South Korean military assessments and recent commercial satellite images. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said experts will closely examine the ship's hull before beginning the next phase of restoration, which will take place at a dry dock at the neighboring port of Rajin and is expected to last seven to 10 days. Satellite images taken Thursday by Planet Labs PBC analyzed by The Associated Press showed the stricken destroyer upright and floating. It wasn't immediately clear from the image just how much damage had been done to the vessel, which had been in the water for days after the failed launch. However, the ship did not appear to be noticeably listing, meaning Pyongyang is likely able to send it onward to the other port to inspect the vessel's electronics. Jo Chun Ryong, a senior official from the ruling Workers' Party, told the agency that the "perfect restoration of the destroyer will be completed without fail" before a major party congress in late June, a deadline set by Kim. Outside experts say it remains unclear how severely the 5,000-ton-class destroyer was damaged during a botched launching ceremony in late May, which triggered a furious response from Kim, who called the failure a "criminal act caused by absolute carelessness, irresponsibility, and unscientific empiricism." North Korean law enforcement authorities have detained at least four officials over the incident, including the vice director of the Workers' Party's munitions industry department, according to state media. The North's main military committee said those responsible would be held accountable for their "unpardonable criminal act." Lee Sung Joon, spokesperson for South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Thursday that the South's military assesses that the North Koreans righted the ship earlier this week and are likely conducting drainage operations while examining the damage. "The nature and duration of the repair process will vary, depending on internal repairs, additional work or whether the incident affected the keel," Lee said, referring to the ship's structural backbone. "This could also affect how the ship is used going forward." The damaged warship was North Korea's second known destroyer and seen as a crucial asset toward Kim's goal of modernizing its naval forces. It was in the same class as the country's first destroyer unveiled in April, which experts assessed as the North's largest and most advanced warship to date. Kim lavishly praised that ship, which was launched in the western port of Nampo, saying it advances his goal of expanding the military's operations range and nuclear strike capabilities. State media described that ship as designed to handle various weapons systems, including anti-air and anti-ship weapons as well as nuclear-capable ballistic and cruise missiles. Kim also supervised test-firings of missiles from the destroyer afterward, and state media said the ship was expected to enter active duty early next year. While North Korea's naval forces are widely seen as far inferior to those of its rivals, analysts say a destroyer equipped with modern missile and radar systems could still boost the North's offensive and defensive capabilities. South Korean officials and experts say the North's destroyer was likely built with Russian assistance as the two countries' military cooperation have intensified amid Russian President Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine. Kim's government has supplied Russia with thousands of troops and large shipments of military equipment, including artillery and ballistic missiles, to support its warfighting. Washington and Seoul have expressed concern that, in return, Kim may seek Russian technology transfers that could enhance the threat posed by his nuclear-armed military. Kim met with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu in Pyongyang on Wednesday in the latest sign of the countries' deepening ties. Kim has framed his arms buildup as a response to perceived threats from the United States and South Korea, which have been expanded joint military exercises in reaction to the North's advancing nuclear program. Kim says the acquisition of a nuclear-powered submarine would be his next big step in strengthening the North Korean navy.
Yomiuri Shimbun
4 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan, Guatemala to Upgrade Ties to Strategic Partnership
The Associated Press Taiwan Presidential Office via AP Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo during a ceremony in Taipei on Thursday Japan and Guatemala are likely to upgrade their bilateral relationship to be strategic partners that share fundamental values such as the rule of law and democracy. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo are expected to reach an agreement during talks set to be held soon, according to multiple Japanese government sources. Japan seeks to strengthen its relationship with Guatemala, which maintains diplomatic ties with Taiwan, with the aim of realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific amid China's growing influence in Central and South America. The two countries are coordinating on talks between their leaders during Arevalo's visit to Japan from Sunday to Wednesday.
