Russia and Ukraine have carried out a new prisoner exchange. 270 Ukrainians and 270 Russians returned home

Ukraine and Russia have carried out a new prisoner exchange, as a result of which 270 Ukrainian citizens have returned home. Among the released people are military personnel who defended the city of Mariupol, including members of the "Azov" Battalion, and nine civilians, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Also, five people presumed dead following the Russian terrorist attack in Olenivka in July 2022, as well as nine civilians, returned to Ukraine.

The leader in Kiev announced that most of those released had been in captivity since 2022, since the beginning of the large-scale Russian invasion.

"National Guard soldiers, including fighters from the Azov Battalion, border guards, representatives of the territorial defense, servicemen of the Naval Forces, Ground Forces, Airborne Assault Forces, State Service for Special Transport, as well as nine civilians are returning home. Most of them have been in captivity since 2022. Most of those released are soldiers who defended Ukraine in Mariupol. Defenders from the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, Kherson, Kyiv, Mykolaiv and Chernihiv directions are also returning home. Many of them were illegally convicted in Russia. Among those returned are five people considered deceased as a result of the Russian terrorist attack in Olenivka in July 2022," Zelensky wrote on Telegram.

The prisoner exchange took place at the "Novaya Huta" border crossing in Belarus. The Belarusian side provided all logistics for the operation, including the landing of the planes in Gomel and the movement of the bus convoys to the crossing point.

Since the beginning of 2026, Russia and Ukraine have already carried out 18 exchanges of prisoners of war. The most recent took place on August 19, when the "103 for 103" formula was applied.