Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that 200 individuals, including defenders of Mariupol, have returned home from Russian captivity.
Ukrainian Prisoners Return Home
On Thursday, March 5, 200 people returned to Ukraine from Russian captivity. President Zelensky announced that 200 Ukrainian families received the awaited news that their loved ones are coming home. Among the returnees are defenders from Mariupol, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
International Cooperation and Future Exchanges
The Ukrainian president noted that every return of prisoners demonstrates Ukraine’s commitment to recovering all its citizens. Zelensky expressed gratitude to partners, including the United States, for supporting the exchanges and to Ukrainian soldiers who are creating conditions for these initiatives on the front lines.
According to the Coordination Staff for Prisoners of War in Kyiv, this return is the implementation of agreements reached during trilateral talks in Geneva. The Staff confirmed that defenders of Mariupol, who were in captivity for almost four years, were among those freed and that further prisoner releases are planned.
Additional Exchanges and Negotiations
The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed the ‘200 for 200’ prisoner exchange. Russian media reports indicate that exchanges in a ‘500 for 500’ format are scheduled for March 5-6, followed by another ‘300 for 300’ exchange on Friday, with the United Arab Emirates and United States serving as intermediaries.
President Zelensky stated that trilateral peace talks with the US and Russia will continue when the security situation permits. He mentioned that daily communications with the US are ongoing, but due to the situation around Iran, there are no yet signals to organize a trilateral meeting. The previous round of negotiations took place in Geneva on February 17-18, with representatives from several European countries participating as observers for the first time.