Ukrainian prisoners of war return home on second day of swap with Russia
Another 307 Ukrainians were freed from Russian captivity on the second day of the prisoner exchange agreed in Istanbul.
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Ukraine's Ministry of Defence shared images showing the returning soldiers, draped in the Ukrainian flag, celebrating the exchange.
In the post shared to X, the Ministry of Defence said: "Today, another 307 Ukrainians were freed from Russian captivity. This is the second stage of the exchange under the agreements reached in Istanbul.
"Among those who returned today are warriors from our Armed Forces, the State Border Guard Service, the National Guard of Ukraine.
"We are working every day to ensure that each next stage brings us closer to the main goal — to bring everyone home."
Ukraine also saw hundreds of prisoners returned yesterday on the first day of the prisoner swap.
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Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelenskyy thanked those that made the exchange possible with a post on X.
He said: "I thank everyone involved in the exchange process, those who have been working around the clock.
"Our goal is to bring every single person back from Russian captivity. We continue cooperating with our partners to make this possible."
He revealed in two days 697 people have been brought home, and they expect the process to continue tomorrow.
Today, another 307 Ukrainians were freed from russian captivity. This is the second stage of the exchange under the agreements reached in Istanbul.
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 24, 2025
Among those who returned today are warriors from our Armed Forces, the State Border Guard Service, the National Guard of Ukraine.… pic.twitter.com/zJu1ScwOiu
Ahead of the prisoner swap US President Donald Trump congratulated both sides. He said: "A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine. It will go into effect shortly.
"Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big???"
The prisoner swap was agreed last week when Ukrainian and Russian officials came face-to-face for the first direct peace talks in three years.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said 1,000 prisoners will be exchanged in total over a number of days.
There have been 64 prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The most recent exchange, on May 7, saw more than 200 Ukrainian service members returned home.
Previous exchanges have been derailed before completion.