Hundreds of prisoners of war returned home Friday to emotional reunions as Russia and Ukraine carried out their largest swap since the fighting began. More exchanges are ahead over the next few days, the New York Times reports, until each side has received 1,000 freed prisoners. "We are bringing our people home," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on Telegram. Friday's swap included 390 returns for each side, a deal reached last week, even as efforts have failed to produce a ceasefire. Zelensky said he'll work toward agreements on more exchanges.
The exchange, the largest so far, took place at the northern Ukraine-Balarus border, a Ukrainian official said. Russia's Defense Ministry said its returnees then were taken to Belarus for medical treatment, per the Los Angeles Times. The exchange agreement was struck last week in Istanbul, the first direct talks between Ukraine and Russia since early in the war. Both sides have accused the other of mistreating prisoners. The United Nations has concluded that the abuse is widespread on Russia's part, while Ukraine's mistreatment has taken place in isolated cases.
In Ukraine's Chernihiv region, families waited at a hospital as buses of prisoners arrived. "Mom, I was exchanged," one soldier given a phone at the hospital said into it, per the New York Times. Families called out names and held up photos in hopes their loved ones were on the buses. "Do you recognize this man?" a woman asked a soldier as she showed him a photo. "Do you see how much we have changed?" he answered. "He might not be recognizable by this photo." (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)
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