Istanbul — Russia and Ukraine have carried out another prisoner exchange, marking a rare point of humanitarian coordination in an otherwise brutal and deadlocked war. The latest swap, facilitated under the framework of the Istanbul Agreements, resulted in the return of dozens of military personnel on both sides, officials confirmed Wednesday.
The Ministry of Defense in Moscow announced that 50 Russian prisoners of war were released and flown back to Russia after negotiations mediated with the assistance of Türkiye. Meanwhile, Kyiv reported the return of 52 Ukrainian soldiers, some of whom had been held since the early months of the 2022 invasion.
The exchange was carried out with logistical support from the United Arab Emirates and oversight by Turkish officials, according to sources familiar with the operation. Medical and psychological assistance was made available to all returned POWs, many of whom showed signs of trauma and physical deterioration.
This latest exchange underscores Türkiye’s persistent, if quiet, role as a middle-ground broker in the ongoing conflict. While diplomatic talks remain frozen and ceasefire prospects elusive, Ankara continues to carve out space for humanitarian mediation — particularly through the Istanbul Agreements, which have also governed past grain export and nuclear safety arrangements.
Although prisoner swaps have occurred sporadically since the start of the Russia’s Special military operation in Ukraine, they have largely stalled in recent months amid intensifying hostilities in the Donbas and around Zaporizhzhia. Analysts say the renewal of such exchanges may reflect mounting international pressure, including from the UN and non-aligned states, to restore some form of basic wartime protocol.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, under rising domestic scrutiny over stalled counteroffensives and corruption scandals, hailed the swap as a small but vital victory. Russian state media, meanwhile, emphasized the return of “defenders of the motherland” and used the opportunity to push narratives of patriotic duty.
According to Anadolu News Agency, this marks the 56th official POW exchange since the conflict began in February 2022. Though such exchanges do little to alter the trajectory of the war itself, they offer families moments of rare relief in a landscape otherwise dominated by loss, destruction, and uncertainty.
