Ukraine, Russia free 200 POWs each in latest swap amid stalled peace talks

Exchange comes amid a deadlock in US-brokered negotiations to end the four-year war between the two countries.Published On 5 Mar 2026Ukraine and Russia have freed 200 prisoners of war (POWs) each, officials from the two countries said, as efforts to reach a deal to end their four-year conflict appear to have stalled.Thursday’s release is part of an exchange agreed during talks in Geneva last month that will see a total of 500 POWs freed by each side, Ukrainian and Russian officials said, with the remaining 300 expected to be released on Friday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Russia accuses Ukraine of drone attack as gas tanker sinks in Mediterraneanlist 2 of 3Where are Iran’s allies? Why Moscow, Beijing are keeping their distancelist 3 of 3‘Our children were sold off’: The South Africans sent to fight Russia’s warend of list“Today, 200 Ukrainian families received the most-awaited message – their loved ones are coming home,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post.“And this is always good news for all of us, for the entire country: the return of our people to their homeland,” added Zelenskyy, thanking the United States “for its support in making this exchange possible”.Video footage shared by Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets showed servicemen leaving buses, wrapped in Ukrainian flags and shouting “Glory to Ukraine!”, before embracing loved ones who came to welcome them.The Russian Defence Ministry also published footage showing its soldiers boarding a bus and cheering while draped in Russian flags.Kyiv and Moscow have carried out regular POW exchanges throughout the war, which hit the four-year mark in February.United States-brokered negotiations to end the conflict have stalled despite recent rounds of talks in Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.Territory has been a major sticking point, with Russia insisting that Ukraine give up the remaining 20 percent of the eastern region of Donetsk that Russian forces have failed to capture – a demand rejected by Kyiv.