Ukraine, Russia exchange 200 POWs each in latest swap

Zelenskiy thanks US, mediators as POWs from Mariupol siege are freed in Ukraine

Ukraine and Russia exchanged 200 prisoners of war (POW) each on Thursday in their latest swap, ​officials on both sides said, despite a ‌deadlock in US-backed negotiations to end the four-year conflict.

Kyiv and Moscow have carried out regular POW exchanges throughout the ​war, committing during recent talks in Geneva to ​a new round of such swaps even ⁠as negotiations remain stuck over the question of ​territory.

"Every time our people come home, it proves ​that Ukraine is working to bring everyone back. No one is forgotten," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on X.

Today, 200 Ukrainian families received the most-awaited message – their loved ones are coming home. And this is always good news for all of us, for the entire country: the return of our people to their homeland. Among those returning are defenders of Mariupol, and of the Donetsk,… pic.twitter.com/08zeuuEx3p

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 5, 2026

"We involve mediators. ​I am grateful to everyone who helps Ukraine. ​I thank the United States for its support in making ‌this ⁠exchange possible."

Read More: Ukraine marks four years of war

Some of the POWs freed on Thursday were captured as far back as Moscow's siege of Mariupol in early 2022, Zelenskiy added.

Tearful ​relatives greeted loved ​ones, many ⁠of them draped in Ukrainian flags, as they emerged from a ​bus that had arrived at an undisclosed ​location ⁠to chants of "Welcome!"

The two sides are expected to trade a further 300 POWs each in a ⁠second ​day of exchanges on Friday, ​officials said.