Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 270 prisoners of war each, Russian state news agencies reported on Friday, October 23, citing the Defence Ministry in Moscow, Reuters reported. The ministry was cited as saying that the freed Russian servicemen were in Belarus and would be transported to Russia once they had received psychological and medical assistance.
Source: Reuters via KELO-FM
Ukraine confirmed the same figure from its side. Ukraine on Friday brought home 270 people, including nine civilians, in the latest swap with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, according to a separate Reuters report. The last large-scale prisoner swap took place on August 19, when 103 Ukrainians were returned from Russian captivity, and another 10 people were brought back later in August — making Friday's exchange the largest in more than two months.
Source: Reuters via Devdiscourse
Thousands of prisoners have been exchanged since the start of Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022. The swaps are one of the few areas where Moscow and Kyiv have maintained on-off contacts despite the fighting, which continues on the front line and in the air even as the exchanges go ahead.
What is solid
- Russia and Ukraine each freed 270 prisoners on Friday, October 23 — the figure was announced by Russia's Defence Ministry (via Russian state agencies, reported by Reuters) and independently confirmed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
- Ukraine's group of 270 included nine civilians, Zelenskiy said (Reuters).
- The freed Russian servicemen were in Belarus awaiting transport to Russia after psychological and medical assistance, the Russian Defence Ministry said (Reuters).
- The previous large-scale swap was on August 19, when 103 Ukrainians returned, with 10 more later in August (Reuters).
What is only claimed
- The two sides announced the exchange separately and Awaaz Punjab attributes each detail to the side that stated it; no independent body has published its own count of Friday's exchange.