Russia and Ukraine launched the largest prisoner exchange since the war began, freeing nearly 800 people on Friday in the first phase of a deal expected to release 2,000 detainees by Sunday. The agreement, struck at last week’s rare in-person talks in Istanbul, saw 390 Ukrainians and 390 Russians repatriated so far. President Donald Trump publicly disclosed the swap as it was happening.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said the group included both military personnel and civilians, some held for years. Videos showed emotional reunions and cheering crowds as freed Ukrainians crossed the border, many wrapped in national flags.
Russia claimed its civilians were taken in a 2023 Ukrainian incursion into Kursk, while Kyiv described them as collaborators.
