Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that soldiers from the Armed Forces, National Guard and Border Guard Service had returned home after years in Russian captivity, with many reportedly detained since 2022. 

The exchange came amid renewed large-scale Russian attacks on Ukraine, including a deadly missile strike on Kyiv that killed at least 24 people, among them children, and wounded dozens more. Ukraine accused Moscow of escalating attacks on civilian areas shortly after the expiration of a three-day ceasefire announced earlier this month by Trump. While both Russia and Ukraine accused each other of violating the temporary truce, prisoner exchanges remain one of the few areas where cooperation between the two sides has continued since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed that 205 Russian soldiers were also returned from Ukrainian-controlled territory and said they had been taken to Belarus for psychological and medical treatment. Zelenskyy thanked everyone involved in bringing Ukrainian prisoners home, sharing images of released soldiers wrapped in Ukrainian flags as they reunited with relatives after years of captivity.