Moscow (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – On Sunday, Russia and Ukraine concluded a three-day prisoner-of-war exchange, with each flank exchanging 303 additional detainees, according to the Russian Defence Ministry.
US President Donald Trump indicated that the prisoner exchange might signal a new phase in the intermittent negotiations for a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. A total of 1,000 prisoners should be released from each side within three days.
“Thus, in accordance with the Russian-Ukrainian agreements reached on May 16 in Istanbul, for the period from May 23 to May 25, the Russian and Ukrainian sides carried out an exchange on the formula of 1,000 for 1,000 people,”
the Russian ministry said on Sunday.
On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his gratitude to the team that tirelessly worked to successfully carry out this exchange.
303 Ukrainian defenders are home. The third part of the 1000-for-1000 exchange deal, agreed upon in Türkiye, has been completed.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) May 25, 2025
Today, warriors of our Armed Forces, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service, and the State Special Transport Service are returning home.… pic.twitter.com/RpixVvQYDJ
Did the Istanbul meeting influence the final agreement?
A brief meeting in Istanbul on May 16 resulted in a prisoner exchange agreement between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, convened at Trump’s insistence. The meeting in Istanbul was first suggested by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a reaction to Kyiv’s European allies imposing a ceasefire-or-sanctions ultimatum on Moscow.
Many viewed this as a transparent effort by the Kremlin leader to divert attention and postpone actions. Ukraine and its allies insisted that Russia accept an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Istanbul; however, no significant progress was made.
How significant is this swap in the ongoing war?
On Friday, Kyiv and Moscow initiated a significant prisoner exchange, which would mark the largest swap since the invasion commenced over three years ago. In the initial phase on Friday, both countries received 390 individuals. They were anticipated to complete an exchange of 1,000 each in total, based on an agreement established during direct talks in Istanbul the previous week.
The first part of the exchange began on Friday, with Russia and Ukraine both releasing 390 prisoners, which included 120 civilians. They announced plans to release additional prisoners in the following days. On the same day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov mentioned that Russia would be prepared to present Ukraine with a draft document detailing the conditions for a long-term peace agreement after the completion of the current prisoner exchange.
Moreover, Moscow and Kyiv each exchanged 307 POWs on Saturday on the second day of an extended prisoner swap formed to be the biggest in the three-year fighting. Saturday’s swap was announced by Russia’s defence ministry and separately by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a post on the social media platform Telegram.
