Russia and Ukraine wraps up largest prisoner swap

Russia and Ukraine each exchanged 303 prisoners on Sunday, completing the largest prisoner exchange under an agreement reached during their recent talks in Istanbul, Türkiye. The Russian Defense Ministry said that 303 Russian servicemen have "returned from Kiev-controlled territory," while an equivalent number of Ukrainian prisoners have also been freed. 

Among those released were personnel from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service, and the State Special Transport Service, Ukrainian President Zelensky said on X. The freed Russian prisoners are on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, where they are being provided with necessary psychological and medical assistance, said the Russian Defense Ministry. 

The three-day exchange of prisoners was the 65th swap of captives between the two sides since the start of the conflict and the sixth of its kind this year, according to Ukraine's Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.