Ukraine and Russia carry out 72nd prisoner swap in 200-for-200 format
Photo: The second exchange with Russia took place this year (t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official)
Ukraine and Russia conducted a new prisoner exchange on Thursday, March 5. A total of 200 Ukrainians returned home from captivity, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Another 200 Ukrainians are home, a new exchange will take place tomorrow
Among those returning are Armed Forces of Ukraine servicemen, including representatives of the Naval Forces, Ground Forces, Territorial Defense, Unmanned Systems Forces, Air Assault Forces, Air Force, as well as the National Guard of Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service, and the State Special Transport Service.
Among the freed are defenders of Mariupol who had been in captivity for nearly four years.
The released servicemen defended the country in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia directions. Along with soldiers and sergeants, officers were also freed.
Photo: On March 5, the Ukrainian and Russian sides conducted a 200-for-200 prisoner exchange (t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official)
Photo: On March 5, the Ukrainian and Russian sides conducted a 200-for-200 prisoner exchange (t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official)
Photo: On March 5, the Ukrainian and Russian sides conducted a 200-for-200 prisoner exchange (t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official)
Photo: On March 5, the Ukrainian and Russian sides conducted a 200-for-200 prisoner exchange (t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official)
Photo: On March 5, the Ukrainian and Russian sides conducted a 200-for-200 prisoner exchange (t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official)
Photo: On March 5, the Ukrainian and Russian sides conducted a 200-for-200 prisoner exchange (t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official)
Photo: On March 5, the Ukrainian and Russian sides conducted a 200-for-200 prisoner exchange (t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official)
Photo: On March 5, the Ukrainian and Russian sides conducted a 200-for-200 prisoner exchange (t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official)
Photo: On March 5, the Ukrainian and Russian sides conducted a 200-for-200 prisoner exchange (t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official)
This is the first stage of the exchange. Tomorrow it will continue with an even larger number of servicemen, reports the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. A two-day exchange between Ukraine and Russia was agreed upon during trilateral talks in Geneva.
According to Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky, over two days (March 5–6), Russia and Ukraine will conduct a prisoner exchange on a 500-for-500 basis. A 300-for-300 exchange will take place on Friday.
“Currently, the largest number of Russian servicemen in Ukrainian captivity ever is held. Thousands of Russians have filled Ukrainian military detention camps,” the Coordination Headquarters writes.
According to Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, the oldest freed person is 59 years old, and the youngest is 27.
As part of the first stage of implementing the agreements reached during the negotiations in Geneva, 200 of our defenders are returning to their homeland. Among those released are defenders who were captured in 2022. The oldest released is 59 years old, the youngest is 27 years… pic.twitter.com/tHrnqhM9F6
— Dmytro Lubinets (@lubinetzs) March 5, 2026
The ombudsman also said that many of the released are in a difficult psychological state. Some have critically low body weight.
“Eighteen of the returned defenders have celebrated or will celebrate their birthday in March,” he reported.
In total, since the start of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine has managed to return 6,622 of its citizens.
Prisoner exchanges between Ukraine and Russia
The first prisoner exchange in 2026 took place on February 5. At that time, 157 Ukrainians returned home, 150 military personnel and 7 civilians.
Among those released were servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including representatives of the Naval Forces, Ground Forces, Territorial Defense Forces, Air Assault Forces, and Air Force, as well as fighters of the National Guard and the State Border Guard Service. Both soldiers and sergeants, as well as officers, returned home.
They defended the country on the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Sumy, and Kyiv directions. Most of those released were captured during the defense of Mariupol. A serviceman of the National Guard who had been captured during the occupation of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant also returned.
A total of 139 of those released had been held in Russian captivity since 2022. During this exchange, it was also possible to return Ukrainians who had been illegally convicted in Russia.
It was the first exchange in almost five months. It was carried out after trilateral talks between Ukraine, the United States, and Russia in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Before that, Russia had been blocking agreements on the return of Ukrainian military personnel and civilians for about half a year.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Russia is currently holding up to seven thousand Ukrainian prisoners. After talks in Geneva, he also stated that another exchange could take place in the near future.
Head of the Presidential Office Kyrylo Budanov expressed hope that the next exchange could be larger than the one on February 5.
