Russia and Ukraine each released 390 prisoners on Friday and said they would free more in the coming days, in what is expected to be the biggest prisoner swap of the war so far.
The agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners each was the only concrete step toward peace to emerge last week from two hours of talks in Istanbul, the first direct talks between the warring sides in more than three years.
The Russian Ministry of Defence said each side had released 270 soldiers and 120 civilians on Friday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the total of 390 each, and said more would be released on Saturday and Sunday.
Earlier, Ukrainian authorities told reporters to assemble at a location in the northern Chernihiv region in anticipation that some freed prisoners could be brought there.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides are believed to have been wounded or killed in Europe’s deadliest war since the Second World War, although neither side publishes accurate casualty figures. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians have also died as Russian forces have besieged and bombarded Ukrainian cities.
The Russian Defence Ministry said those released included civilians captured in Russia’s Kursk region during a Ukrainian incursion there that began last year.
The freed Russian servicemen and civilians were in Belarus, which neighbours Ukraine, and receiving psychological and medical assistance before being moved to Russia for further care, it said.
Deadly attack in Odesa
While U.S. President Donald Trump has said he is losing patience with both countries as the U.S. seeks an end to the war, in general he has shifted American policy from supporting Ukraine with significant military and humanitarian aid to accepting some of Russia’s account of the war.
Trump said he could tighten sanctions on Moscow if it blocked peace, but after speaking with Putin on Monday there was no immediate action, even as the European Union issued its 17th sanctions package against Russia.
Referring to the prisoner swap earlier on Friday, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big???”
Moscow says it is ceasefire-ready for talks while the fighting goes on, and wants to discuss what it calls the war’s “root causes,” including its demands Ukraine cede more territory, and be disarmed and barred from military alliances with the West. Kyiv says that is tantamount to surrender and would leave it defenceless in the face of future Russian attacks.
Meanwhile, fighting has continued.
Iconic Canadian comedian Dave Thomas, best known as half of Bob and Doug McKenzie, recently spent time in Ukraine and was surprised by how normal life carried on — with a sense of quiet resistance. McKenzie spoke to The National’s Ian Hanomansing about his experience there and why he’s always valued his Canadian passport.
Russia, which occupies about one-fifth of Ukraine, claimed on Friday to have captured a settlement called Rakivka in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region.
The governor of Ukraine’s Odesa region, Oleh Kiper, said Russia had struck port infrastructure there with two missiles on Friday afternoon, killing one person and wounding eight.
