Latest news with #UkraineRussia
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
Ukraine and Russia conduct another POW swap
Ukraine and Russia conducted another POW swap -- the fourth one in a week -- the warring sides said on Saturday, under agreements reached in Istanbul earlier this month. "We continue to take our people out of Russian captivity. This is the fourth exchange in a week," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media. "In accordance with the Russian-Ukrainian agreements... another group of Russian servicemen was returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime," Russia's defence ministry said on Telegram. Kyiv also said it had received another batch of 1,200 unidentified bodies from Russia, which it said Russia claimed "belong to Ukrainian citizens, including military personnel," as part of the Istanbul agreements as well. Ukraine did not say whether it returned any bodies to Russia. Photos published by Zelensky on Telegram showed men of various ages, mostly with shaved heads, wearing camouflage and draped in Ukrainian flags. Some were injured, others disembarked from buses and hugged those welcoming them, or were seen calling someone by phone, sometimes covering their faces or smiling. Moscow's defence ministry released its own video showing men in uniforms holding Russian flags, clapping and chanting "Russia, Russia", "glory to Russia" and "hooray", some raising their fists in the air. The exchange came as Russia repeatedly rejected ceasefire calls and intensified its offensive along the front line, and especially in the northeastern Sumy region, where it seeks to establish a "buffer zone" to protect its Kursk region, previously partly occupied by Ukraine. Zelensky claimed Russia's advance on Sumy was stopped, adding that Kyiv's forces have managed to retake one village. According to the Ukrainian president, Russia was using 53,000 men in the Sumy operation.
Al Arabiya
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Ukraine, Russia say exchanged new group of POWs
Ukraine and Russia said Thursday they had swapped a fresh group of prisoners of war, the third exchange this week as part of a deal agreed at peace talks in Turkey. 'Today, warriors of our Armed Forces, National Guard, and Border Guard Service are back home,' Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media, with Russia's defense ministry also confirming the swap.
The Independent
09-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Zelensky confirms Ukraine and Russia have begun prisoner of war exchange
Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed that Ukraine and Russia have exchanged prisoners of war on Monday (9 June), the first swap since the two nations engaged in a second round of peace talks in Istanbul earlier this month. Speaking in a video shared on the Telegram app, the Ukrainian president said that the swap involved those that are seriously wounded, as well as those under the age of 25. 'I thank everyone who is helping to carry out the exchange and working to ensure that all our people can return home – home from Russian captivity,' he said, adding that the trade will be done in several stages over the coming days. Russia's Defence Ministry also confirmed the return of the first group of Russian POWs, without providing information on the swapped military personnel.
ABC News
09-06-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Ukraine and Russia exchange prisoners
There's a nervous wait for thousands of families in Ukraine and Russia as both sides start one of the largest prisoner exchanges of the war so far. It's the first group to be returned since the the two nations launched their second round of peace talks earlier this month.
Al Arabiya
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Russia and Ukraine exchange group of younger prisoners of war, Moscow says
Russia and Ukraine have carried out a prisoner of war exchange involving POWs under the age of 25, Russia's Defense Ministry said on Monday, saying the swap was the result of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine earlier this month. The June 2 Istanbul talks resulted in an agreement to conduct an exchange of at least 1,200 POWs on each side - focusing on the youngest and most severely wounded - and to repatriate thousands of bodies of those killed in the war. Both sides said it would be the biggest exchange once completed, something that was expected to happen in phases. The return of prisoners of war and the return of the bodies of the dead is one of the few things the two sides have been able to agree on, even as their broader negotiations have failed to get close to ending the war, now in its fourth year. The Russian Defense Ministry did not say in its statement how many POWs had been exchanged on Monday, but said both sides had swapped the same amount of military personnel. Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said at the weekend that a first list of 640 POWs had been handed to Ukraine. The Russian military said its returned servicemen were now in Belarus, a close Russian ally, where they were getting psychological and medical assistance before being transferred to Russia for further care. The Kremlin had said earlier on Monday that Russia was ready to honor agreements with Ukraine on the prisoner of war exchange and on the repatriation of dead soldiers despite what it said was Kyiv's failure to fully honor its side of the bargain.
