Ukraine, Russia conduct second phase of major prisoner swap: 307 released on each side

Volodymyr Zelenskyy's statement

The head of state confirmed the exchange.

“Another 307 Ukrainian defenders are home. Today is the second day of the 1,000-for-1,000 exchange, which was agreed upon in Turkey. In just these two days, 697 people have already been returned,” the Ukrainian president said at 1:51 p.m.

Among those who returned today are soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service, and the National Guard of Ukraine.

“We expect the process to continue tomorrow,” Zelenskyy added.

Thus, on Sunday, May 25, 2025, the largest prisoner exchange in years, in the “1,000-for-1,000” format, is expected to be successfully completed.

“Our goal is to bring every single person back from Russian captivity. We continue to work with our partners to make this possible,” the Ukrainian president concluded.

Who was returned

According to Yermak, some of the returned Ukrainian prisoners had been held captive by the Kremlin since 2022.

He also noted that "among those returned home are drone operators from the Unmanned Systems Forces."

The youngest released person is 25 years old, and the oldest is 61 years old, details Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights.

The released defenders protected Ukraine in the Donetsk, Kherson, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk directions.