On Tuesday, March 7, a large exchange of POWs took place. Ukraine managed to return 130 prisoners from Russian captivity.

Andrii Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, announced the news in his Telegram channel.

“Another prisoner exchange. We managed to bring home 130 of our people – 126 men and 4 women. These are soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, National Guard, Border Guard Service, and State Special Transport Service,” Yermak wrote on his social media.

Those released include 87 defenders of Mariupol, 71 of whom fought at Azovstal. It was also possible to return soldiers captured in the area of Bakhmut and Soledar – a total of 35 people from the Donetsk direction.

According to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, most of those returning home today are seriously injured. Currently, all of them are receiving medical care and will subsequently be able to restore bank cards and IDs.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine managed to release 1993 Ukrainians from Russian captivity.

The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that Russia returned 90 of its servicemen from Ukrainian custody.

Previous exchange

The last exchange of prisoners took place on February 16. Back then, Ukraine managed to return 101 people. Many of the discharged servicemen had injuries of various severity.

According to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, the released prisoners included national guardsmen, border guards, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine soldiers.

94 defenders of Mariupol, including 63 soldiers from Azovstal, were also among those released.