Ukraine returns 10 Russian POWs, Moscow says

Ukraine handed over 10 Russian prisoners of war in Gomel on August 26 after Russia released 10 captive Ukrainians earlier in the week, Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova said.

“A '10-for-10' prisoner-of-war exchange took place today in Gomel. In return for the release of Ukrainian POWs on August 24, the Ukrainian side handed over 10 of our soldiers to Russia,” Lantratova said on Telegram.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that 10 Ukrainian prisoners of war who had been considered missing in action had been released. He said they were servicemen from Ukraine's Armed Forces and National Guard who had defended the Donetsk sector and were brought back through Belarus.

Moscow and Kyiv have frequently exchanged captive soldiers during the war, one of the few areas of cooperation between the two sides. The two countries have swapped thousands of prisoners of war since Moscow launched its Ukraine offensive in 2022, and both sides are thought to hold thousands more in captivity.