Russia and Ukraine conducted a prisoner exchange after mediation by the United Arab Emirates.
Russia’s Defence Ministry wrote on Telegram that 146 service members from each side were released on 24 August 2025, describing it as the latest in a series of swaps carried out this year.
The Ukrainians returning home included soldiers, National Guardsmen, State Border Guards Service members and from other units, according to Ukraine’s Co-ordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
Civilians were also among those released, including journalists Dmytro Khyliuk and Mark Kaliush and former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolaienko.
Many of the released had been detained since early 2022, during the initial months of Russia’s invasion and occupation of parts of southern and eastern Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent reported the day of the exchange.
Russia’s Defence Ministry reported that Russian service members releas´d at the same time were taken to Belarus for medical and psychological care.
The statement also said that eight Russian civilians from the Kursk region were returned by Ukraine. Video footage released by the ministry showed Russian soldiers celebrating aboard buses after the swap.
Neither side disclosed the exact location of the exchange. Reporting only confirmed that freed Russian service members were processed in Belarus after the swap. The UAE has mediated several exchanges this year, aiming to reduce humanitarian harm and address the situation of prisoners.
The exchange occurred o Ukraine’s Independence Day, which is celebrated each year to mark the country’s 1991 Declaration of Independence from the Soviet Union. It is one of the nation’s most significant holidays.
CNN noted on August 25 that Dmytro Khyliuk had been missing since 2022 and was previously listed as presumed dead. His release drew attention from colleagues and international press-freedom organisations.
Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky described the swap as “a significant step forward” but criticised Kyiv for not returning additional Russian civilians from the Kursk region, saying that more than 20 residents remained detained, according to Reuters.
