Russia and Ukraine today released 390 prisoners each and said they would release more in the coming days, in what is expected to be the largest prisoner exchange of the war so far, Reuters reports.
The agreement to exchange 1.000 prisoners was the only concrete step towards peace that emerged last week from the first direct negotiations between the warring parties in more than three years, when they failed to agree on a ceasefire.
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Both sides have announced that they have so far released 270 soldiers and 120 civilians, with more to be released on Saturday and Sunday.
The freed Russians are currently in Belarus, which borders Ukraine, where they are receiving psychological and medical assistance before being transferred to Russia for further care, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Among them are civilians captured in Russia's Kursk region during the Ukrainian invasion.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted photos of the released prisoners, all with shaved heads, celebrating their release and wrapped in Ukrainian flags.
Ukrainian media outlet Espreso TV published a video of a prisoner's wife crying with joy, wrapped in a flag, on Kiev's Independence Square.
She said she had been waiting for her husband's release since 2022 and had just received a call from Ukrainian authorities confirming the good news.
"We waited, hoped and fought," said Victoria.
Earlier, Ukrainian authorities told journalists to gather at a location in the northern Chernihiv region because some released prisoners might be brought there.
Referring to the prisoner swap, US President Donald Trump, who had been pressing the sides to meet last week, wrote on Truth Social: "Congratulations to both sides on these negotiations. Could this lead to something big???"
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides are believed to have been wounded or killed in the deadliest war in Europe since World War II, although neither side releases exact casualty figures, according to Reuters.
Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians have also died as Russian forces besieged and bombarded Ukrainian cities.
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