Ukraine, Russia begin complex POW Exchange – DW – 06/09/2025

More details are emerging about the prisoner-of-war exchange between Ukraine and Russia, which both sides have confirmed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the swap includes wounded and seriously wounded soldiers, as well as those under the age of 25. He noted that the exchange process would take several days to complete.

Neither Zelenskyy nor the Russian Defense Ministry disclosed how many POWs would be exchanged.

The exchange follows an agreement reached during ceasefire talks held earlier this month in Istanbul, Turkey. At the time, both Moscow and Kyiv stated that the swap would involve more than 1,000 captured soldiers.

The deal appeared to be in jeopardy over the weekend when the Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of failing to retrieve the bodies of its fallen soldiers, which Russia had intended to repatriate.

Zelenskyy claimed that Moscow had not provided Kyiv with the names of more than 1,000 Ukrainians whose bodies had been agreed upon for return. He accused Russian authorities of playing “dirty” games.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a prisoner-of-war swap between Russia and Ukraine is underway.

He posted pictures online of Ukrainians “returning home from Russian captivity.”

“Today, an exchange began, which will continue in several stages over the coming days,” Zelenskyy said.

Over the weekend, Russia accused Ukraine of delaying the prisoner swap that will also include an exchange of soldiers’ bodies.

Ukraine, however, said there was no fixed date for the swap and that Russia was not adhering to the agreements about the exchange.

“The process is quite complex, with many sensitive details, and negotiations continue virtually every day,” Zelenskyy said on Monday.

Ukraine’s Air Force has released more details about a large overnight Russian strike, confirming that a military airfield in the west of the country was among the main targets.

“The main strike was targeting… one of the operational airfields. There are some hits,” Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainian TV, without elaborating on the extent of the damage.

According to Ukrainian regional authorities, the airfield is located in Dubno, approximately 60 km (40 miles) from Ukraine’s border with Poland.

Earlier, Poland reported that Polish and allied aircraft were activated Monday to ensure the safety of Polish airspace.

The Kremlin has sharply criticized NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s proposal to significantly boost the alliance’s air and missile defense capabilities, calling the move “confrontational.”

“[NATO] is not an instrument for maintaining stability and security on the continent. It is an instrument created for confrontation and has so far kept its true nature disguised. Now it is showing its real nature,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about the proposal.

Peskov also warned that European citizens would bear the financial burden of the plan.

“European taxpayers will spend their money to defuse some threat that they say comes from our country, but it is nothing but an ephemeral threat,” he said.

His remarks come despite repeated threats from senior Russian officials toward NATO since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including warnings about nuclear strikes. 

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte is expected to urge alliance members to make a “quantum leap” in defense capabilities, including a 400% increase in air and missile defenses to counter the growing threat from Russia.

“We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies,” Rutte is set to say in a speech at Chatham House in London, according to advance remarks released in a statement.

Rutte will also call for thousands more armored vehicles and millions of additional artillery shells to bolster NATO’s readiness.

His latest appeal comes amid a broader push for the 32-member alliance to raise military spending to 5% of GDP.

Currently, only 22 members meet or exceed NATO’s existing 2% target.

Poland scrambled warplanes on Monday to secure its airspace as Russia launched hundreds of drones at Ukraine.

“Due to the intensive air attack by the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, Polish and allied aircraft began to operate in Polish airspace in the morning,” Warsaw’s Operational Command said in a statement on Facebook.

Poland is one of Ukraine’s closest allies and a member of NATO.

It has reported breaches of its airspace during previous Russian attacks.

In March 2024, Poland reported that a Russian cruise missile had violated its airspace and demanded an explanation from Moscow. A similar incident occurred in December 2023.

A Ukrainian drone strike deep into Russia forced a temporary suspension of production at an electronics company in the Volga River region of Chuvashia, the head of the region said.

“This morning, Ukrainian attempts to use drones in Chuvashia were detected,” regional governor Oleg Nikolayev wrote on Telegram.

Moscow reported that debris from intercepted drones fell on the facility, while Ukraine stated there was a direct hit on the site.

The factory is 1,300 km (800 miles) from the Ukraine-Russia border and, according to Kyiv, “specializes in manufacturing navigation equipment used in attack drones, guided aerial bombs, and high-precision weapons.”

Russia has launched what Ukrainian officials are calling the largest drone assault since the start of the war, firing a record 479 drones overnight.

The Ukrainian Air Force says it successfully intercepted or shot down 460 of them, along with 19 out of 20 missiles also launched during the overnight barrage.

It comes after Russia launched a massive aerial bombardment across Ukraine over the weekend in what appeared to be retaliation for recent strikes on its air bases.

Moscow has intensified attacks in recent weeks as ceasefire talks stall.

Russia launched nearly 500 drones at Ukraine overnight, but Kyiv also landed a significant blow, targeting an electronics company reportedly involved in producing navigation systems for Moscow’s attack drones, guided bombs, and precision weapons.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will use a speech in London to push for a massive increase in air and missile defense in the military alliance.

We’ll have more details about these developments, live updates, expert analysis, and on-the-ground reporting as we continue our coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine.