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Russia and Ukraine have carried out the largest prisoner exchange since the start of the full-scale war, The Guardian reported on Saturday, quoting the Russian Ministry of Defense. The swap, mediated by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), resulted in the release of hundreds of prisoners on both sides, the report said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the exchange on social media, announcing that 277 Ukrainian prisoners of war had returned home. “In total, since the beginning of the full-scale war, 4,552 people—both warriors and civilians—have been successfully brought back home from Russian imprisonment,” Zelenskyy said in a post, adding, “We remember all those who remain in captivity. We are searching for everyone who could be there. We must bring them all home.”
While Russia’s Ministry of Defense did not specify the exact number of Russians returned as part of the deal, it described the operation as the largest prisoner swap to date.
The development comes as President Vladimir Putin announced an “Easter Truce”, reportedly saying Russian forces will stop combat operations from 6 pm Moscow time on Saturday until midnight on Sunday.
In an unexpected move, Putin said he was ordering a temporary pause in fighting, citing “humanitarian considerations.” “Guided by humanitarian considerations, today from 18:00 to 00:00 from Sunday to Monday, the Russian side declares an Easter truce. I order that all military actions be stopped for this period,” Putin announced during a meeting with Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, AP reported, citing a video released by the Kremlin’s Press Service.
Putin further suggested that he expects Ukraine to do the same, calling it a test to see if the “regime” in Kyiv was actually serious about peace. The Russian president further said, “We assume that the Ukrainian side will follow our example. At the same time, our troops must be ready to repel possible violations of the truce and provocations from the enemy, any of its aggressive actions.”
The ceasefire announcement coincided with claims from Russia’s Defense Ministry that its forces had expelled Ukrainian troops from one of their last remaining footholds in Russia’s Kursk region, an area where Ukrainian forces had launched a surprise incursion last year.
The ceasefire declaration comes just a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said that negotiations between Ukraine and Russia were “coming to a head”, and added that neither side is “playing” him in his diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the three-year war.
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