Latest news with #POWexchange
Reuters
4 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Zelenskiy says Ukraine, Russia to exchange lists this week for POW swap
KYIV, June 2 (Reuters) - Ukraine and Russia agreed at talks in Istanbul on Monday next week to give each other lists of people they want included in a planned prisoner of war swap, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. Zelenskiy told an online news briefing that negotiators for Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners each, with the possibility of swapping an additional 200 POWs. He said there was also agreement to return the remains of killed service personnel, but this would take careful preparation. Zelenskiy also said Ukrainian negotiators gave their Russian counterparts a list of nearly 400 children it wanted Russia to return home to Ukraine, but that the Russian delegation agreed to work on returning only 10 of them. Further, the Ukrainian leader referred to a Ukrainian intelligence operation on Sunday, codenamed "Spider's Web", in which drones smuggled inside wooden sheds attacked Russian military airfields. He said the operation had helped to restore partners' confidence that Ukraine is able to continue waging its war against Russia's invasion.
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- General
- Bloomberg
Russia and Ukraine Talks Fall Short of Truce Deal
Russia and Ukraine wrapped up a second round of talks in Istanbul — they lasted only about an hour and came a day after the two sides exchanged some of the most intense aerial attacks of the war. The ex-Soviet neighbors agreed to prepare for a new exchange of all heavily wounded POWs as well as young soldiers under 25 years of age, but fell short of a deal.
RNZ News
24-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Russia and Ukraine swap 307 soldiers on second day of POW exchange
The largest prisoner POW exchange since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion taking place between Ukraine and Russia. Photo: AFP/MAXYM MARUSENKO Russia and Ukraine each exchanged 307 of their service personnel on Saturday on the second day of an extended prisoner swap set to be the largest in the three-year war. US President Donald Trump has suggested the swap could herald a new phase in stop-start efforts to negotiate a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv. There should be 1000 prisoners released on each side over three days. Saturday's swap was announced by Russia's defence ministry, and separately by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a post on social media platform Telegram. "Tomorrow we expect more," Zelensky wrote. "Our goal is to return each and every one of us from Russian captivity." Reuters Television footage showed freed Ukrainian servicemen at a rendez-vous point inside Ukraine coming off buses draped in blue and yellow national flags as waiting family members chanted "Welcome!" Serviceman Dmytro Havrylenko held his son, and his mother, in a very long embrace. "I am shocked to be honest," he said. "These were 17 difficult months, very difficult. But everything is fine." A fellow soldier hugs a Ukrainian prisoner of war (POW) who returns from captivity. Photo: AFP/MAXYM MARUSENKO Women held up photos of missing servicemen and gathered around returnees to ask about their whereabouts. One woman, identifying herself as Yana, said no one had any news of her husband, missing since Ukrainian forces launched an incursion into Russia's Kursk region last year. "Maybe the boys will recognise his photo and share some information," she said. "We're here for the second day. Maybe today." Footage released by Zelensky's office showed one released serviceman in tears and 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 first part of the exchange took place on Friday when Russia and Ukraine each released 390 prisoners, including 120 civilians, and said they would free more in the coming days. On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia would be ready to hand Ukraine a draft document outlining conditions for a long-term peace agreement once the current prisoner exchange was completed. Saturday's release took place a few hours after the Ukrainian capital was rocked by an overnight Russian bombardment using long-range drones and ballistic missiles, in which 15 people were injured. The prisoner exchange was agreed at short-lived talks in Istanbul on May 16 between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, who had come together at the urging of Trump. - Reuters
Al Jazeera
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Ukraine, Russia exchange more prisoners after ‘difficult night' of attacks
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged more prisoners of war (POWs) as Ukrainian officials renew their calls for more sanctions in response to dozens of attack drones and ballistic missiles launched by Moscow's forces at Kyiv overnight. Russia's Ministry of Defence said on Saturday it released 307 Ukrainian POWs in exchange for as many Russian servicemen, who are being cared for in Belarus before their return to Russia. Ukraine confirmed the exchange, saying among those returned were army soldiers, agents of the State Border Guard Service, and members of the National Guard of Ukraine. The two sides released 270 servicemen and 120 civilians each on the Ukrainian border with Belarus on Friday, as part of the biggest prisoner exchange since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Both sides have agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners, but the aerial attacks and ground fighting have not stopped. Ukraine's military on Saturday said overnight attacks launched from multiple Russian regions used 250 drones and 14 ballistic missiles to hit Kyiv and other areas, damaging several apartment buildings and a shopping mall, and injuring at least 15 people in the capital. Sites in the Ukrainian regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa and Zaporizhia were also hit, with Ukrainian forces saying six of the ballistic missiles were shot down by their air defences, along with 245 drones, many of which were said to be Iranian-designed. Oleh Syniehubov, head of Kharkiv's regional state administration, said on Saturday morning that four Ukrainians were killed and several others injured over the past 24 hours in the region as a result of multiple Russian attacks. Meanwhile, Russia's Ministry of Defence said at least 100 Ukrainian drones attempted to strike Russian targets overnight. It said 64 unmanned aerial vehicles were downed overnight in the skies of the Belgorod region, along with 10 additional drones launched on Saturday morning. Dozens more projectiles were downed over Kursk, Lipetsk and Voronezh and another five were shot down over Tver, northwest of Moscow, it said. In a social media post, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country had another 'difficult night' that he believes should convince the world that 'the reason for the war being dragged out is in Moscow'. 'It is obvious that we need to put much more pressure on Russia to get results and start real diplomacy. We are waiting for sanctions from the US, Europe and all our partners. Only additional sanctions against key sectors of the Russian economy will force Moscow to agree to a ceasefire.' The Group of Seven nations threatened on Friday to impose further sanctions on Russia if it fails to agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said a week after talks in Istanbul, Turkiye, led only to an agreement on the exchange of prisoners of war, that Moscow has yet to send any 'peace memorandum'. 'Instead, Russia sends deadly drones and missiles at civilians,' he wrote in a post on X, adding that 'increased sanctions pressure on Moscow is necessary to accelerate the peace process'. Reporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera's John Hendren said the Istanbul meeting was disappointing for Zelenskyy because he wanted a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'Instead, it was a much lower-level meeting. But they did manage to get this prisoner swap,' he said, adding that the exchanges could be over by Sunday, but the details were not clear. 'Zelenskyy has been disappointed by the lack of additional US sanctions against Russia. Europe has agreed to new sanctions, but it's not clear that they will really have the desired effect to bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.'
Reuters
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Russia, Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 POWs from each side, Ukrainian Defence Minister says
KYIV, May 16 (Reuters) - Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war from each side, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov told Ukrainian TV on Friday as talks in Istanbul ended. If the exchange goes ahead, it would be the biggest prisoner swap in more than three years since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
