Russia repatriates 303 servicemen in swap with Ukraine, ending 1000-for-1000 Istanbul deal

Russia has repatriated 303 servicemen from Ukrainian-controlled territory within the third prisoner exchange as part of the Russian-Ukrainian agreements reached in Istanbul, the Russian Ministry of Defence has said.

"On May 25, 303 Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime. In exchange, 303 Ukrainian Armed Forces prisoners of war were handed over. The Russian servicemen are currently on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, where they are receiving the necessary psychological and medical assistance," the statement read, Caliber.Az reports.

"Thus, in line with the Russian-Ukrainian agreements reached on May 16 in Istanbul, a prisoner exchange based on the '1000 for 1000' formula was carried out by both sides between May 23 and May 25," the ministry added.

To recall, on May 23, the first exchange under this agreement took place, with Russia and Ukraine trading 270 military personnel and 120 civilians. A day later, on May 24, the sides carried out a second large-scale prisoner exchange, each side returning 307 military personnel, as part of an ongoing process agreed during recent negotiations in Istanbul.

The reciprocal release was part of the framework laid out during the May 16 meeting in Istanbul —  the first direct dialogue between Moscow and Kyiv since shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Istanbul talks yielded only one concrete outcome: an agreement by both parties to release a total of 1,000 prisoners each.

By Khagan Isayev