Ukraine, Russia conduct second prisoner swap under Istanbul deal

Editor’s note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Ukraine and Russia carried out another prisoner exchange on June 10, concluding the second phase of an agreement reached during the most recent round of peace talks in Istanbul, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced.

“We continue the return of our people, as agreed in Istanbul,” Zelensky wrote on X, confirming the exchange without immediately disclosing the number of returnees.

“Today marks the first stage of the return of our injured and severely wounded warriors from Russian captivity. All of them require immediate medical attention. This is an important humanitarian act,” he added.

The swap marks the second stage of the deal negotiated during the June 2 negotiations in Turkey — the second direct peace dialogue between Kyiv and Moscow since 2022.

While no ceasefire or political breakthrough was achieved, both sessions resulted in key humanitarian agreements, including commitments to exchange prisoners of war (POWs) and the bodies of fallen soldiers.

Alongside the prisoner swap, Moscow pledged to hand over the remains of 6,000 Ukrainian service members. Zelensky said on June 4 that preparations for the body repatriation would begin after the completion of the prisoner exchange.

Tensions briefly flared on June 7, when Russian officials claimed the exchange had failed due to Ukraine's actions. Kyiv rejected the accusation, calling it disinformation.

Russia also released a video showing refrigerators allegedly containing Ukrainian bodies, which Ukrainian officials said was filmed inside Russia and not at an agreed exchange site.

The latest exchange follows the largest swap of the full-scale war, conducted between May 23–25, during which 1,000 captives were released by each side. Ukraine has returned over 5,000 prisoners from Russian captivity since March 2022, according to official data.

Kyiv continues to advocate for an "all-for-all" formula, which would see the return of every captured Ukrainian soldier. Russia has repeatedly refused to accept such a comprehensive deal.

Ukraine begins new major prisoner exchange with Russia

Among those freed are defenders of Mariupol who had spent more than three years in captivity.

The Kyiv IndependentAnna Fratsyvir