Kursk operation pushes Russia toward prisoner swaps – ISW

This information comes from a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

The report notes that the recent one-for-one prisoner swap was the fourth since the Ukrainian Armed Forces began operations in the Kursk region on August 6, 2024.

ISW experts point out that the pace of prisoner exchanges between Ukraine and Russia has significantly picked up after Ukrainian forces took control of part of the Kursk region.

So far, in the previous three exchanges, both sides swapped a total of 267 prisoners of war. Before August 6, 2024, only three exchanges were conducted between January 1 and that date.

ISW continues to assess that Ukraine’s actions in the Kursk region will likely push Russia to engage in more prisoner exchanges..

• On October 18, another exchange took place with Russia, resulting in the return of 95 Ukrainian soldiers. Additionally, human rights activist, military serviceman, and co-founder of the ZMINA Human Rights Center, Maksym Butkevych, was also freed from Russian captivity.