Zelenskyy visits front line as Ukraine and Russia swap 500 prisoners each
Al Jazeera
Completion of two-day POW exchange one of few tangible results as peace talks stall amid Middle East turmoil.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had visited the eastern front line as Ukraine and Russia completed a two-day prisoner-of-war swap, exchanging 500 soldiers each.
The swap, which included the exchange of 200 soldiers each on Thursday and another 300 each on Friday, came as US-brokered peace negotiations remained deadlocked, with a planned trilateral meeting this week shelved due to the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Two Ukrainian civilians were also returned home.
Video posted by Zelenskyy of the exchange showed dozens of men stepping off white buses, waving and embracing border guards. One soldier, phone to his ear, could be heard telling his mother: “I am at home. That’s it, I am home.”
US special envoy Steve Witkoff credited the swap to “sustained and detailed peace discussions” held in Geneva under the direction of President Donald Trump, thanking Switzerland for hosting the negotiations.
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