Translated with AI
Russia and Ukraine conducted a 175-for-175 prisoner of war exchange. In addition, seven civilians each returned to both countries. This was announced on April 11 by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Russian Ministry of Defense.
According to Zelenskyy, most of the released Ukrainian servicemen had been in captivity since 2022. Among them were participants in combat operations in Mariupol, near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, as well as in the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kursk, Luhansk, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Kherson sectors.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that the returned Russian military personnel are currently located in Belarus.
The department also clarified that the seven civilians involved in the exchange are residents of the Kursk region, part of which was under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 2024–2025. All of them are residents of the Sudzhansky district, according to regional governor Alexander Khinshtein. According to him, among those returned are five women and two men, the oldest of whom is 91 years old.
The Russian Ministry of Defense noted that the authorities of the United Arab Emirates provided assistance in conducting the exchange.
Earlier, on March 6, Moscow and Kyiv conducted a 300-for-300 prisoner of war exchange. According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, two civilians returned home along with the soldiers. The Russian side, for its part, reported that the exchange involved not only the United Arab Emirates but also the United States.
Another exchange took place on March 5th using the “200 for 200” formula, and before that, at the beginning of February, the parties carried out an exchange using the “157 for 157” formula.
Furthermore, on April 9, Russia and Ukraine exchanged the bodies of fallen servicemen. Russia handed over the remains of 1,000 soldiers to Ukraine, and in exchange, according to State Duma deputy Shamsail Saraliev, received 41 bodies. Earlier, on February 26, a body exchange took place using the formula "1,000 for 35."
