The largest exchange of prisoners of war during the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war took place. 230 Ukrainian citizens returned: 213 soldiers and sergeants, 11 officers and 6 civilians.

The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced this.

Among them are 130 soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including 14 soldiers of the Territorial Defense Forces and 14 of the Ukrainian Navy, 55 soldiers of the National Guard of Ukraine, 38 soldiers of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, and one police officer.

The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War noted that six returned civilians were illegally taken to the territory of the Russian Federation.

It is reported that the defenders of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Azovstal Iron and Steel Works, and Zmiinyi (Snake) Island have returned from captivity.

Among those released from captivity, 182 people had official prisoner of war status, confirmed through the International Committee of the Red Cross, and 48 people who were considered missing were also present.

The released prisoners were met by the Head of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Kyrylo Budanov, a member of the Coordination Headquarters, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, and the Secretary of the Coordination Headquarters, Dmytro Usov.

The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine specified that the United Arab Emirates took an active part in the exchange process.

The Russian Defense Ministry stated that it had returned 248 Russian servicemen.

On August 7, Militarnyi reported on the exchange of prisoners of war, which resulted in the release of 22 soldiers.

Previously, on July 6, 45 Ukrainian defenders were reported to have returned.

The Ukrainian children, illegally deported to Russia, returned to Ukraine at that time. Their mother, a combat medic, was released in a major exchange in October 2022.