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Ukraine and Russia exchanged hundreds of prisoners on Saturday in the second phase of a massive swap between the countries.
Both sides released 307 servicemen, a day after 390 combatants and civilians were freed in the first phase on Friday.
“Among those who returned today are soldiers from our army, the State Border Service, and the National Guard of Ukraine,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on his official Telegram channel.
The majority of Ukrainian soldiers released were taken captive in the Donetsk region, some as long ago as 2022, the Ukrainian leader said in an additional video address.
He added that others were captured in territories of the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Luhansk regions.
A total of 697 Ukrainians have returned home over the past two days, with a third prisoner swap expected to take place on Sunday, which would make it the largest swap in thiree years of conflict.
Kyiv and Moscow agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners from each side during the talks in Istanbul last week. It marks a rare moment of cooperation between the two nations, who have failed multipe times to reach on a ceasefire deal.
However, the swap did not halt the fighting. On Saturday, a large-scale Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv injured at least 15 people and damaged residential buildings and a shopping mall.
“Russia fills each day with horror and murder; it’s simply dragging out the war,” Zelenskyy said in the video address on Saturday.
“”Ukraine is ready for any form of diplomacy that delivers real results. We are ready for all steps that can guarantee true security. It is Russia that is not ready for anything. Next week must be a time for action aimed at increasing pressure on Russia – in other words, aimed at securing peace.”
