Russia and Ukraine swap 307 soldiers on second day of POW exchange

On Saturday, Russia and Ukraine exchanged 307 service members each as part of a large-scale prisoner swap that, once completed, will mark the largest such exchange in the three-year conflict between the two nations.

U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that the prisoner exchange—set to involve the release of 1,000 individuals on each side over three days—could signal a potential breakthrough in the intermittent peace negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.

The swap was confirmed separately by Russia’s Defense Ministry and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who shared the news on the messaging platform Telegram.

“Tomorrow we expect more,” Zelenskiy wrote. “Our goal is to bring back every single one of our people held in Russian captivity.”

Photos released by Zelenskiy’s office showed Ukrainian soldiers arriving by bus at a location inside Ukraine, warmly embracing one another and proudly displaying the national flag. One emotional scene depicted a freed serviceman in tears, being comforted by a woman in military uniform.

Friday marked the first stage of the exchange, during which both sides released 390 individuals, including 120 civilians. Officials said the releases would continue in the coming days.

Speaking on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Moscow would be prepared to present Ukraine with a draft proposal for a long-term peace agreement following the completion of the prisoner swap.

Saturday’s exchange took place just hours after Kyiv endured a heavy overnight Russian assault involving ballistic missiles and long-range drones, which injured 15 people.

The agreement for the prisoner release was reached during brief talks held in Istanbul on May 16, where Russian and Ukrainian delegations met following an initiative pushed by President Trump.