Russia and Ukraine exchanged 372 prisoners of war on Wednesday in a swap facilitated by the United Arab Emirates, the Russian Defence Ministry announced.
The exchange came after a high-profile conversation between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, which included discussions on potential ceasefire efforts.
Moscow said it returned 175 Ukrainian prisoners, including 22 severely wounded soldiers in need of urgent medical care, while Kyiv handed back 175 Russian troops. Russia described the release of the wounded Ukrainians as a “gesture of goodwill.”
“All the Russian soldiers are in Belarus, where they are receiving psychological and medical assistance and have the opportunity to contact their relatives,” the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.
Despite the ongoing war, prisoner exchanges have remained one of the few areas of cooperation between Moscow and Kyiv since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Both sides have conducted multiple swaps, often brokered by neutral parties like the UAE and Turkey.
While the latest exchange signals a continuation of such humanitarian efforts, it comes amid renewed accusations from both countries of violating a proposed 30-day energy truce.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian officials have blamed each other for continued strikes on critical infrastructure, despite reports that Putin agreed to a temporary pause in attacks on Ukraine’s power grid.
Zelensky is expected to hold talks with Trump later on Wednesday to discuss the outcome of the US leader’s conversation with Putin and the next steps in ceasefire negotiations.
However, Kyiv remains wary of any agreement that could leave Ukraine vulnerable to future Russian offensives.
