Budanov says major Ukraine–Russia prisoner exchange expected within the week
Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has said a large mutual prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia could take place as early as next week. He did not disclose how many people would be returned. The announcement comes after the August 19 swap that brought home 103 Ukrainian servicemen.
Key points
- Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Budanov said on September 27 that a large mutual prisoner exchange is expected in the near future.
- The potential window for the exchange was specified as September 28 to October 4.
- The previous swap on August 19 returned 103 Ukrainian servicemen from the Armed Forces, State Border Guard Service and National Guard.
- A follow-up stage on August 24 brought home 10 more servicemen, all previously listed as missing.
- According to Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, 9,716 Ukrainians have been returned from Russian captivity since February 24, 2022.
- Azov commander Denys Prokopenko says more than 600 Azov fighters and National Guard defenders of Mariupol remain in Russian captivity.
Why it matters
If it goes ahead, the swap could be the largest of the war so far, potentially bringing home hundreds of Ukrainian servicemen. Budanov's silence on numbers keeps the scale uncertain, and the issue of Azov fighters and Mariupol defenders still held in Russia remains unresolved. The exchange also comes against a backdrop of concern about missing servicemembers and detainees in places such as Olenivka.
What happened
On September 27, Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, told journalists that a major mutual prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine is expected soon, with the hope that it will take place within the week of September 28 to October 4. He did not disclose how many people would be involved or any other details of the planned operation. The most recent full exchange, on August 19, brought 103 Ukrainian servicemen home from the Armed Forces, the State Border Guard Service and the National Guard, followed by a special stage on August 24 that returned 10 more servicemen who had been listed as missing.
Background
Ukraine and Russia have carried out a series of prisoner exchanges since the start of the full-scale invasion. According to Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, 9,716 Ukrainians had been returned from Russian captivity as of August 19, 2022. Lubinets also reported on July 1 that Russia is holding 46 prisoners of war from Olenivka and said in August that 79 previously missing servicemembers had been located. Brigadier General Denys (Redis) Prokopenko has publicly stated that no Azov regiment members or other National Guard defenders of Mariupol were freed in the August 19 exchange and that more than 600 of them remain in Russian captivity, calling on the state to change its approach to negotiations on their release.