Ukraine and Russia carried out over the weekend the first exchange of prisoners of war since the start of the Ukrainian operation in the Russian Kursk region.
VOA was present at the 55th exchange of prisoners of war between Ukraine and Russia that was symbolically held on the 33rd anniversary of Ukraine's independence.
This is the first exchange of prisoners between the two countries since Ukraine began the operation in the Kursk region.
115 Ukrainian prisoners returned home. According to Ukraine's Coordination Staff for Prisoners of War, all of them were conscripts, including some soldiers who were captured in the first months of Russia's aggression that began in February 2022.
“Today we managed to return 115 of our heroes to the country. And the total number of our citizens released to date has reached 3,520 heroes and heroines,” said Bohdan Okhrimenko, an official of the Coordination Staff for Prisoners of War.
The Ukrainian soldiers looked exhausted but happy to be back. Many of them, like Yevheni, who for security reasons agreed to be identified only by name, had been imprisoned in Russia for two and a half years.
“Two and a half years. Of course, it is very difficult. But we resisted. Our boys are still there, waiting to go home,” he says.
“We spent a lot of time in captivity, but the sacrifice was worth it. Most of those returning will continue to serve in the military. We will continue to defend our Motherland. The main thing is not to give up”, adds Yevheni.
“It's very difficult to be in captivity, there, thousands of kilometers from home. Very difficult,” says Artemi, another released soldier.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that one of the main goals of the Ukrainian operation in the Kursk region is to be able to exchange Ukrainian prisoners with Russian ones.
“This operation became our largest investment in the process of freeing Ukrainian men and women from Russian captivity. We captured the largest number of Russian prisoners in one operation. And this is a significant result, it is one of our goals”, says the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The latest exchange took place three weeks after Ukraine's surprise incursion into Russia. According to Ukrainian officials, Ukrainian forces have captured thousands of Russian soldiers. Many of them are conscripts.
Russia announced that 115 Russian conscripts were returned to Moscow as part of the exchange.
Although there is no official confirmation that Russian soldiers were captured in the Kursk region – many in Ukraine believe that the operation in Kursk will improve the chances of the release and return of Ukrainian prisoners.
