Trump Says Russian–Ukrainian Prisoner Exchange Is Underway

Trump wrote on Truth Social: ‘Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big???’

Family members of Ukrainian prisoners hold banners and photos of servicemen in captivity ahead of an exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine, in Chernihiv region, Ukraine, on May 23, 2025. Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Russia and Ukraine are in the process of exchanging prisoners of war.

Last week, the two sides agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners each, the biggest exchange since the war broke out in February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Trump wrote on Truth Social: “A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine. It will go into effect shortly. Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big???”

Later, Ukraine and Russia confirmed the prisoner exchange, which was agreed upon during a meeting of Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in Istanbul on May 16.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 390 Ukrainians were returning home on Friday, with further releases due over the weekend.

He wrote on Telegram, “It’s very important to bring everyone home.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry said 270 military personnel and 120 civilians had been released by each side, and added more prisoner swaps were “planned to continue in coming days.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s presidential aide, Vladimir Medinsky, who led the Russian negotiating team, said on May 16 that both sides had also agreed to provide detailed proposals for a cease-fire.

After the May 16 talks, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the prisoner exchange would be a “confidence-building measure” ahead of further discussions.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that there has been no agreement on where the next round of talks would take place.

Before the Istanbul talks, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there would be no breakthrough on agreeing to a cease-fire unless there was a direct meeting between Trump and Putin.

On May 16, Trump, who was in Abu Dhabi at the time, told reporters that a meeting with Putin would happen “as soon as we can set it up.”

When asked about the possibility of a meeting between Trump and Putin, Peskov told reporters on May 16 that high-level talks were “certainly needed.”

On May 17, Trump said he planned to speak by phone with Putin on the morning of May 19, followed by calls with Zelenskyy and NATO allies, in an effort to broker a cease-fire.

In a May 17 Truth Social post, Trump wrote in all caps: “The subjects of the call will be, stopping the ‘bloodbath’ that is killing, on average, more than 5000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade.”

Trump called it “a war that should have never happened.”

After the call with Putin on May 19, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “The tone and spirit of the conversation were excellent.”

Trump indicated that he spoke with Zelenskyy and other European leaders immediately after he wrapped up his call with Putin.

Zelenskyy has accused Russia of making “unrealistic demands” and says it is trying to prolong the war.

Putin has insisted that in order for a long-term peace deal, Ukraine has to agree never to join NATO, and he also wants Kyiv to hand over four regions that Russia annexed, but does not fully occupy, in September 2022, as well as Crimea.

In an interview with Time magazine, published on April 25, Trump said, “Crimea will stay with Russia; Zelenskyy understands that, and everybody understands that it’s been with them for a long time.”

The Soviet Union assigned control over the territory from Russia to Ukraine in 1954. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia leased naval facilities in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.