Ukraine, Russia conduct major prisoner exchange ahead of Easter holiday
Photo: Ukraine and Russia exchange POWs on April 19 (t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine and Russia conducted a major prisoner exchange on the eve of Easter, April 19. A total of 277 defenders were freed from Russian captivity.
The prisoner exchange took place just before one of the most important Christian holidays — Easter. Ukraine brought home 277 soldiers.
Among those released from Russian captivity were soldiers from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, the State Transport Special Service, and border guards. They had defended Mariupol and other areas in the regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk.
The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War clarified that most of those freed are young people born after the year 2000. Specifically, today, a female soldier, who had been imprisoned since May 2022, will reunite with her family.
Photo: Ukraine and Russia exchange POWs on April 19 (t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official)
The Ukrainian Ombudsman for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, also commented on the exchange.
“Easter miracle: 277 of our defenders are home on free Ukrainian land. Today, the 63rd prisoner exchange took place: 246 defenders were returned within the framework of the exchange, and an additional 31 individuals were freed outside of the exchange process,” the message reads.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that, since the beginning of the full-scale war, a total of 4,552 people — both soldiers and civilians — have been returned from Russian captivity.
“I thank everyone who made this return of our people possible. I am especially grateful to the United Arab Emirates for their mediation,” the President concluded.
Notably, a day earlier, Reuters reported that Ukraine and Russia were preparing for a large-scale prisoner exchange. According to sources, both sides were preparing to return about 500 Ukrainian and Russian prisoners, as well as 46 wounded soldiers.
Reuters also reported that the exchange was mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
Prisoner exchanges
According to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, since the beginning of the full-scale war, 4,306 military and civilian prisoners have been freed from Russian captivity.
The most recent prisoner exchange took place on March 19, 2025. During that exchange, 175 soldiers were freed, and another 22 defenders returned through non-exchange measures.
Among the freed defenders were soldiers from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Navy, the National Guard, the Territorial Defense Forces, and the Border Guard Service. They had been captured while defending Mariupol, at Azovstal, in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, as well as in Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, and Kursk regions.
