It was the 59th prisoner exchange since the start of the full-scale invasion and one of the largest to date.
On the Ukrainian side, military personnel, border guards, National Guardsmen and Navy personnel were released. Many had been held captive for more than two and a half years, and Ukrainian authorities said some had returned with serious illnesses and injuries.
For some families, the agonizing uncertainty is over. But thousands of Ukrainians remain captive in Russia and in the occupied parts of Ukraine.
Officials in Kiev told the BBC that prisoner exchange talks have become more difficult in recent months – since Russian troops began making significant advances on the battlefield.
Ukraine does not publish the number of prisoners of war held in Russia, but their total number is believed to exceed 8,000.
Denis Prokapenko, commander of the 12th Ukrainian special purpose brigade “Azov”, which defended the Mariupol metallurgical plant “Azovstal” before it was captured by Russian troops, said X, external that 11 men of the brigade were returned in exchange.
Prokapenka was released as a result of a prisoner exchange in 2022.
