Ukraine returned 205 prisoners of war from Russian captivity on Friday, May 15, in the first stage of a planned 1,000-for-1,000 exchange with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. According to Zelensky, the released prisoners include servicemembers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, National Guard, and State Border Guard Service.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “This is the first stage of the 1,000-for-1,000 exchange,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram. Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said the exchange was carried out under agreements reached with US mediation. The exchange serves as a precondition for Kyiv’s agreement to Moscow’s unilateral May 9–11 ceasefire, though both sides accused each other of violating the three-day truce and delaying the prisoner swap.
According to Ukraine’s coordination headquarters, released troops included members of Ukraine’s Navy, Ground Forces, Air Assault Forces, Territorial Defense Forces, Air Force, National Guard, and State Border Guard Service. Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said the exchange marked the 74th prisoner swap since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Among those released were servicemembers from the Azov Brigade, while 95% of the freed Ukrainians – 193 out of 205 – had been captured in 2022, many during the defense of Mariupol and Azovstal. Lubinets also said one of the released prisoners had previously been convicted in Russia and later pardoned.
