Russia, Ukraine Each Swap 205 POWs

The exchange was part of a broader deal that is set to see 1,000 captured troops from both sides returned to their homelands.

A makeshift memorial to fallen Ukrainian and foreign soldiers at the Independence Square in Kyiv on March 2, 26, 2026. Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images

Russia and Ukraine completed a swap of 205 prisoners of war (POWs) from each side on May 15, as part of an agreement linked to a three-day ceasefire earlier this month brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was the first step in a larger POW exchange, after Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1,000 each under the terms of the deal.