kyiv, Ukraine (HPD) — Ukraine and Russia announced Thursday that 20 soldiers from both sides had been freed as part of a prisoner-of-war swap, 40 soldiers in all.
“As a result of the negotiation process on today’s exchange, 20 Russian servicemen were returned from the Ukrainian territory controlled by the kyiv regime,” the Russian Defense Ministry stated.
The Russian soldiers were receiving medical and psychological assistance and will soon be transferred to Defense Ministry medical facilities for further treatment and rehabilitation.
Ukraine also reported that 20 of its soldiers were released in Olenivka, in the occupied territories of the Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhia and Kherson. They are now under medical review.
The director of the Ukrainian president’s office, Andriy Yermak, promised on Telegram: “We will bring everyone back.”
It is relatively rare for Russia to speak publicly about POW exchanges. The last large-scale exchange between Russia and Ukraine, in which about 300 people participated, took place at the end of September.