U.S. President Donald Trump has announced what he called a “major” prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia, marking the largest such exchange since the war began in 2022.
Trump disclosed that each side is expected to exchange 1,000 detainees in a deal reportedly reached during talks in Istanbul last week.
While Trump claimed on his Truth Social platform that the swap had already been completed, a senior official familiar with the matter said the process was still ongoing and had not yet concluded.
Traditionally, such exchanges are kept under wraps until fully executed due to the sensitive and lengthy nature of the process.
“This could lead to something big???” Trump posted, hinting at broader diplomatic implications. However, his ceasefire efforts to end the war, now in its fourth year, have yet to yield tangible results.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, prisoner swaps have occurred sporadically, but none on this scale. Estimates suggest Russia holds between 8,000 and 10,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war, significantly more than the number of Russians held by Ukraine.
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Many Ukrainian detainees were captured during the 2022 siege of Mariupol, while others have been held since the annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Ukrainian Commissioner for Missing Persons, Artur Dobroserdov, recently reported over 60,000 individuals remain unaccounted for, with 10,000 confirmed in captivity. Officials note that each swap often includes unexpected returns—some individuals thought missing or dead.
Both sides have accused each other of violating the Geneva Convention, with the United Nations citing credible reports of torture and mistreatment. Russia, in particular, has drawn international criticism for putting POWs on trial and detaining civilians, including journalists.
The body of journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who died in Russian custody, was returned earlier this year.
Ukraine, on its part, has actively taken Russian prisoners to build what President Zelensky calls an “exchange fund.”
This includes Russian troops captured during a 2024 incursion into the Kursk region, and reportedly, even North Korean soldiers allied with Russia.
Previous swaps have also included Ukrainian civilians and religious figures, such as an Orthodox priest convicted for supporting Russia’s aggression.
Although broader peace remains elusive, prisoner exchanges have remained one of the few functioning channels of communication between Kyiv and Moscow, along with repatriation of fallen soldiers and return of children taken into Russia during the conflict.
PunchNewspaper
