277 Ukrainian Defenders Freed in Largest Prisoner Exchange of 2025

On April 19, the eve of Easter, one of the largest prisoner exchanges since the beginning of the full-scale invasion took place. 277 Ukrainian defenders returned home,

According to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War,
out of the total number of released prisoners, 246 were returned as part of an official exchange, and 31 more were released outside the exchange.

Among those who returned home are Mariupol defenders, National Guard soldiers, marines, territorial defense fighters, representatives of the Air Assault Forces, Unmanned Systems Forces, and the State Special Transport Service.

Most of the released prisoners are young people born after 2000. Among them is a female servicewoman who had been in Russian captivity since May 2022.
A total of 268 privates and sergeants, as well as nine officers, were returned from captivity. They were defending Ukraine in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson regions and in Mariupol.

According to the headquarters, this is the fourth exchange in 2025 and the 63rd since the beginning of the full-scale war. Since the beginning of the year, 596 Ukrainians have been returned as part of official exchanges, and another 53 have been released outside of exchanges.

In total, according to the Coordination Center, 4,552 Ukrainians have returned from Russian captivity since March 2022. Another 529 people were released outside the framework of exchanges.

Ірина Глухова