President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with the team of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, during which they discussed the results of the exchanges that have already taken place this year and the preparation of the next ones.
He announced this on social media.
“We hope that in the near future we will be able to welcome home Ukrainians who are currently captive in Russia and in the temporarily occupied territory. The Coordination Headquarters has processed the documents and lists necessary for the exchange, and there is constant communication with the Russian side on such humanitarian issues. We remember all our people who are still in Russian captivity: both military and civilians. Special attention is paid to people who were captured before the start of the full-scale invasion,” Zelenskyy noted.
The meeting also discussed requests from international organizations and work with partners to release people.
“It is important to do everything possible to ensure progress for all categories of prisoners: journalists, city mayors and community leaders, energy workers, our soldiers – Azov soldiers, marines, paratroopers and all others for whom the exchange process is particularly difficult. Our goal is to return all our people from captivity home,” the president said.
He noted that the Ukrainian side is verifying all information, checking every name.
“It often happens that a person is on the list of missing, but we find them in camps in Russia and return them to Ukraine. The work will continue. We will also talk to some leaders of partner countries for additional steps,” Zelenskyy said.
On April 24, as a result of the 73rd exchange between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, 193 Ukrainian servicemen returned home from Russian captivity. The released soldiers defended the state in the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, and Kursk directions. Ukraine also transferred 193 prisoners of war to Russia.
Previous prisoner exchanges between Ukraine and Russia
On July 28, 2025, Zelensky reported that since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, Ukraine has returned 5,857 Ukrainians from captivity, and outside of exchanges, more than 550.
On August 3, the president announced that there was an agreement with the Russian side to exchange 1,200 people. According to him, work on the relevant lists is ongoing.
On August 14, 84 Ukrainians returned home from Russian captivity. Among them were servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and civilians.
The 68th prisoner exchange took place on August 24. Then, military personnel and eight Ukrainian civilians who had been illegally imprisoned by Russia returned to Ukraine.
On October 2, 2025, the 69th exchange of prisoners of war between Ukraine and Russia took place. 185 military personnel of the Defense Forces and 20 civilian citizens of Ukraine, who were illegally detained by Russia, were returned to Ukraine.
On February 5, 2026, 157 citizens, including military personnel and civilians, returned to Ukraine. The same number of people were sent to Russia.
On March 5, 2026, 200 citizens — soldiers of the Armed Forces, the State Special Transport Service, border guards, and National Guardsmen — returned from Russian captivity.
On March 6, 300 Ukrainian servicemen and two civilians returned from Russian captivity.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that on March 6, the Ukrainian side handed over 300 captured Russian military personnel to the Russian side. They are currently in Belarus, and will then be transported to Russia.
On the eve of Easter, April 11, 175 Ukrainian defenders and seven civilians returned to Ukraine from Russian captivity.
On April 12, the head of the Presidential Office, Kirill Budanov, announced that another exchange of prisoners of war was being prepared.