President Donald Trump confirmed that the first stage in a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine has been completed.
“A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “It will go into effect shortly. Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big???”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also announced the swap, writing on X, “Today, 390 people are back home – both military and civilians. Tomorrow and the day after – the next stages will follow. The formula is ‘a thousand for a thousand.'”
“What matters most is that Ukraine is bringing its people home,” he said. “I thank everyone around the world who is helping.”
According to the Associated Press, the swap occurred at the border of Belarus in northern Ukraine.
The prisoner swap was arranged last week in Istanbul, where Russia and Ukraine agreed to each exchange 1,000 prisoners. The meeting lasted less than two hours.
“Today was an important day for world peace,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan wrote on X following the meeting. “As a result of intense diplomatic efforts, Russian and Ukrainian delegations held a meeting in Istanbul, facilitated by Türkiye. As a result of the meeting, they agreed to exchange one thousand people from each country as a confidence-building measure.”
On Thursday, Zelenskyy said he “held a meeting on the preparation for an exchange. The agreement to release 1,000 of our people from Russian captivity was perhaps the only tangible result of the meeting in Türkiye.”
