Published: 11:12, June 20, 2025 | Updated: 11:27, June 20, 2025
Russia, Ukraine complete another prisoner swap
By Xinhua
A Ukrainian soldier hugs his mother after returning from captivity after a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine, in Chernyhiv region, Ukraine, June 14, 2025. (PHOTO / AP)

MOSCOW - Captured servicemen have been returned home in a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

"In accordance with the Russian-Ukrainian agreements reached in Istanbul on June 2, a group of Russian servicemen was released from Ukrainian captivity in a Kyiv-controlled area. In exchange, a group of Ukrainian war prisoners was handed over to Kyiv," the ministry said.

The Russian servicemen are currently in Belarus and are being given necessary psychological and medical assistance, the ministry further said, without giving the number of released prisoners.

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They will return to Russia for further treatment and rehabilitation at medical organizations, the ministry added.

During their latest round of talks in Türkiye's Istanbul, Russia and Ukraine agreed on an "all-for-all" exchange involving seriously ill and wounded prisoners, as well as soldiers under the age of 25.