By Euronews with AP
Published on
Russia and Ukraine on Sunday completed the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each, with the handover of the last 303 prisoners.
The three-day swap, which started on Friday, was the largest since the war began three years ago.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the completion of the exchange, saying on X on Sunday that “303 Ukrainian defenders are home”.
The swap was agreed on in Istanbul earlier this month during the first face-to-face talks between the two sides since the war began.
The prisoner exchange, which included civilians, has been the only concrete step towards peace to emerge from the meeting.
Just hours before the last handover, Russia hit Ukraine with a massive drone and missile assault which Ukrainian officials described as the largest aerial attack of the war.
Officials said at least 12 people were killed and dozens others injured in what they described as the largest aerial assault since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow on the strikes.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said meanwhile that its air defences shot down 110 Ukrainian drones overnight.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged his country’s Western partners to ramp up sanctions against Russia.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Friday said Moscow would present Ukraine with a draft peace agreement once the exchange was completed.
Posting on X on Sunday, President Zelenskyy reiterated the urgent need for a ceasefire and promised to bring every Ukrainian home.
The prisoner exchange was the latest of dozens of swaps since the war began but also the biggest involving Ukrainian civilians.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides, and tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians, are believed to have been wounded or killed during the war.
