Russia and Ukraine swap 307 soldiers on 2nd day of prisoner exchange
Release took place hours after Ukrainian capital was rocked by overnight Russian bombardment injuring 15
Russia and Ukraine each exchanged 307 of their service personnel on Saturday on the second day of a prisoner exchange that, when completed, is set to be the largest such swap in the three-year war between the two countries.
U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested the prisoner swap — which should see 1,000 prisoners released on each side over three days — could herald a new phase in stop-start efforts to negotiate a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv.
Saturday's swap was announced by Russia's Defence Ministry, and separately by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a post on social media platform Telegram.
"Tomorrow we expect more," Zelenskyy wrote. "Our goal is to return each and every one of us from Russian captivity."
Images released by Zelenskyy's office showed freed Ukrainian service personnel arriving in buses at a rendezvous point inside Ukraine, where they hugged each other and draped themselves in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags.
At least one of the released servicemen was in tears and was being consoled by a woman in military uniform. People assigned to greet the soldiers handed them cellphones, so they could call relatives. "I can't believe I'm home," one man said.
A short video released by the Russian Defence Ministry showed Russian service personnel disembarking from buses and posing with the Russian flag, as well as the flags of the Soviet Union and the Russian empire.
The first part of the exchange took place on Friday when Russia and Ukraine each released 390 prisoners, including 120 civilians, and said they would free more in the coming days.
On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia would be ready to hand Ukraine a draft document outlining conditions for a long-term peace agreement once the current prisoner exchange was completed.
The release took place a few hours after the Ukrainian capital was rocked by an overnight Russian bombardment using long-range drones and ballistic missiles, in which 15 people were injured.
The prisoner exchange was agreed at short-lived talks in Istanbul on May 16 between Russian and Ukrainian delegations, who had come together at the urging of Trump.
Deadly attack in Odesa
While Trump has said he is losing patience with both countries as the U.S. seeks an end to the war, in general he has shifted American policy from supporting Ukraine with significant military and humanitarian aid to accepting some of Russia's account of the war.
Trump said he could tighten sanctions on Moscow if it blocked peace, but after speaking with Putin on Monday there was no immediate action, even as the European Union issued its 17th sanctions package against Russia.
Referring to the prisoner swap earlier on Friday, Trump wrote on Truth Social: "Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big?"
Moscow says it is ceasefire-ready for talks while the fighting goes on, and wants to discuss what it calls the war's "root causes," including its demands Ukraine cede more territory, and be disarmed and barred from military alliances with the West. Kyiv says that is tantamount to surrender and would leave it defenceless in the face of future Russian attacks.
Meanwhile, fighting has continued.
Russia, which occupies about one-fifth of Ukraine, claimed on Friday to have captured a settlement called Rakivka in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region.
The governor of Ukraine's Odesa region, Oleh Kiper, said Russia had struck port infrastructure there with two missiles on Friday afternoon, killing one person and wounding eight.