Russia, Ukraine prisoners of war exchange completed, Ukraine’s Zelenskiy appoints new commander

Russia and Ukraine confirmed on June 19 that they had completed another exchange of captured soldiers, as part of an agreement reached during peace talks earlier this month in Istanbul — the first direct negotiations between the two nations in three years.

Under the terms of the agreement, both sides committed to the release of more than 1,000 prisoners of war each, prioritizing those who are wounded, seriously ill, or under the age of 25. However, neither Kyiv nor Moscow disclosed the exact number of soldiers released in the latest exchange, which follows several similar swaps since the June 2 negotiations.

“Our people are returning home from Russian captivity,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media, sharing images of visibly emotional Ukrainian troops reunited with their loved ones.

Ukraine’s agency responsible for prisoner exchanges reported that many of those returned were in poor health after prolonged detention, suffering from conditions such as dystrophy, ulcers, musculoskeletal and vision impairments, and cardiovascular illnesses. Most had been captured during the initial months of Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense also confirmed the exchange, publishing photos of returning soldiers draped in Russian flags, cheering and waving upon their release.

In addition to the prisoner exchange, Russia and Ukraine previously reached a separate agreement in Istanbul to repatriate the remains of over 6,000 deceased Ukrainian soldiers. The handover has been taking place in stages in recent weeks.

However, tensions persist over the process. Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reiterated on June 19 that Russia has deliberately made the identification of bodies more difficult. He accused Moscow of mixing Ukrainian corpses with those of Russian soldiers to obstruct identification efforts.

Klymenko cited one case in which the body of a Russian soldier — found dressed in Russian military uniform and carrying a Russian passport, military ID, and service certificate — was included among the remains returned to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, efforts toward a broader peace deal remain stalled. Moscow has rejected Kyiv’s call for an unconditional ceasefire, demanding instead that Ukraine relinquish additional territory and end its military cooperation with the West as preconditions for ending the conflict.

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy appoints new commander of land forces

In a separate development, President Zelensky announced a key change in Ukraine’s military leadership. In a presidential decree, he appointed Hennadiy Shapovalov as commander of Ukraine’s land forces, following the resignation of Mykhailo Drapatyi.

Drapatyi stepped down after a deadly Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian training facility earlier this month. He has since been reassigned as commander of Ukraine’s joint forces.

Shapovalov previously served as a liaison officer at a NATO coordination center in Germany and earlier commanded the Operational Command “South.”