Pro-government says a major prisoner swap brings 270 Russian soldiers home

Pro-government says a major prisoner swap brings 270 Russian soldiers home
Russia and Ukraine exchanged 270 military personnel each in an operation carried out in Belarus, according to statements from Russia’s Defense Ministry and officials cited by Russian media. Moscow said 270 Russian soldiers were returned from territory controlled by Kyiv, while an equal number of Ukrainian service members were handed over.

The returned Russian personnel were being held in Belarus before transfer home, where they were expected to receive treatment and rehabilitation at Defense Ministry medical facilities, the reports said. The exchange was described as involving relevant authorities on both sides, although the supplied accounts did not include a statement from Kyiv.

Russian ombudswoman Jana Lantratova said the group included 31 soldiers from the Donetsk People’s Republic, 13 from the Luhansk People’s Republic and six from Crimea. Russian reporting presented this as the first agreed return of soldiers from those areas since 2022, and claimed that Kyiv had previously declined to include them on exchange lists.

The operation followed a smaller exchange on Aug. 24, when 10 Russian and 10 Ukrainian soldiers were reportedly returned through Belarus. Russian officials said negotiations over the latest swap had been complicated but ultimately produced an agreement. The reports offered no details on the identities or condition of the Ukrainian personnel transferred to Kyiv.