Russia declined larger prisoner swap proposed by Ukraine — Defense Intelligence
Ukrainian Defense Intelligence representative Andrii Yusov (photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
On April 11, ahead of Easter, Ukraine and Russia conducted a large-scale prisoners of war swap. Kyiv had planned to return a larger number of people, but Russia refused, according to Andrii Yusov, a representative of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence (HUR).
He noted that despite Russia's refusal, Kyiv hopes that prisoner swaps will continue even after Easter.
"Unfortunately, the enemy rejected these humanitarian initiatives proposed by Ukraine, to which we were ready, and many other things. But the work continues. We can cautiously say that the operation will continue and that today may have been only the beginning of Easter swap," Yusov said.
Defense Intelligence of Ukraine reveals more details on the April 11 prisoner swap pic.twitter.com/b6aog02uoC
— RBC-Ukraine (@NewsUkraineRBC) April 11, 2026
Prisoner swap
On April 11, a day before Easter, Ukraine and Russia carried out a prisoner swap, with 175 Ukrainian defenders and 7 civilians returning home.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said among those who returned were service members who defended the country in various sectors, including Mariupol, the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kyiv, and Kursk fronts.
Zelenskyy clarified that some of the returned soldiers are wounded. Most of those freed today had been held in captivity since 2022.
