Ukraine has returned 4,306 prisoners of war (POWs) from Russian captivity since the start of the full-scale invasion, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on March 21.
The Ukrainian government has been engaging with foreign partners and international organizations to return Ukrainian citizens home. In 2024, Ukraine managed to return 1,358 people from Russian captivity.
“Now, when we talk to the American side and our other partners about how to end the war, we talk about the release of prisoners as one of the first steps,” Zelensky said.
The president emphasized that all the necessary services are working to bring Ukrainians back from Russian captivity.
Zelensky’s statement came shortly after Ukraine brought home 197 Ukrainian soldiers. One hundred seventy-five of them were returned as part of the one-for-one exchange with Russia, and another 22 Ukrainian service members were returned through negotiations outside of the swap.
The swap was negotiated by U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 18.
Following a call with Trump, the Kremlin announced that it would conduct a one-for-one prisoner exchange with Ukraine. Moscow also claimed that it would release 23 severely wounded Ukrainian soldiers, but only transferred 22.
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