Russia and Ukraine swap over 100 prisoners of war as Kyiv marks independence day

Ukrainian prisoners of war hold their units flags after a prisoners exchange at an undisclosed location. Credit: AP / Ukrainian Presidential Press Office

Russia and Ukraine have exchanged more than 100 prisoners of war each, in a swap which took place as Kyiv marked the country's third Independence Day since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion.

Ukrainian authorities confirmed many of the 115 Ukrainian servicemen who were freed on Saturday were taken prisoner within the first few months of Russia's invasion.

According to the Russian Defence Ministry, 115 Russian soldiers were released, who had been captured from its Kursk region where Ukraine launched a surprise offensive two weeks ago.

The soldiers are currently in Belarus, but would be taken to Russia for medical treatment and rehabilitation, the ministry confirmed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X that the United Arab Emirates had again brokered the exchange, the 55th since the war began.

"Another 115 of our defenders have returned home today. These are warriors of the National Guard, the Armed Forces, the Navy, and the State Border Guard Service," he said."We remember everyone. We are searching for them and making every effort to bring them all back."

Photos attached to Zelenskyy’s post show gaunt servicemen with shaven heads and wrapped in Ukrainian flags.

The biggest single swap between the two sides so far happened last January, where Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners.

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According to the UN, most Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia suffer routine medical neglect, severe and systematic mistreatment and even torture while in detention.

There have also been isolated reports of abuse of Russian soldiers, mostly during capture or transit to internment sites.

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Meanwhile, five people were killed on Saturday in Russian shelling in the city of Kostiantynivka in Ukraine's partially occupied eastern Donetsk region.

In the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, Russian shelling killed two people and wounded four.

In Russian territory, seven drones were shot down overnight, the country's defence ministry confirmed on Saturday.

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