Overview
- Friday’s final phase saw 300 Ukrainian POWs and two civilians return, following 200 POWs on Thursday, with Russia confirming 300 of its servicemen were also released.
- The exchange implemented agreements reached in Geneva, with both governments crediting the United States and the United Arab Emirates for facilitating the deal.
- U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said the swap stemmed from ongoing trilateral discussions in Geneva and signaled that further progress is expected in the coming weeks.
- Those freed on the Ukrainian side include defenders from Mariupol and multiple fronts such as Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, with some held since 2022.
- Kyiv said returnees will receive medical and psychological care and state benefits, while Moscow reported its soldiers are in Belarus for assistance before transfer to Russia; Ukraine separately protested Russia’s handover of two dual Ukrainian‑Hungarian POWs to Hungary.