Russia and Ukraine swap 372 POWs in latest exchange, defence ministry confirms

Russia and Ukraine successfully exchanged 372 soldiers in a prisoner swap brokered by the United Arab Emirates, said the Russian defence ministry's on Wednesday (Mar 19).

The Kremlin announced the significant development on Tuesday following a telephonic conversation between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Moscow returned 175 Ukrainian POWs, as well as "22 seriously wounded prisoners of war in need of urgent medical assistance", while Kyiv returned 175 Russian troops, the Russian defence ministry said.

Today is another day when Ukraine brings its people back. 175 of our defenders have been released from Russian captivity. Another 22 defenders are returning home through measures beyond exchanges. Among them are severely wounded warriors and those whom Russia persecuted for… pic.twitter.com/r8vI7BiYxn

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 19, 2025

Russia said that it returned the Ukrainian injured prisoners as a "gesture of goodwill".

"All the Russian soldiers are in Belarus, where they are being provided with the necessary psychological and medical assistance and given the opportunity to contact their relatives," it added.

Since Moscow began its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, the two sides have exchanged hundreds of prisoners, marking one of the few areas of cooperation between Moscow and Kyiv.

Kremlin accuses Kyiv of undermining US-Russia efforts to end Ukraine conflict

The Kremlin, on Wednesday (Mar 19), accused Kyiv of undermining the efforts made by the United States and Russia to end the conflict in Ukraine. 

Moscow claimed that Ukraine attempted to strike Russian energy infrastructure, despite an alleged agreement between Putin and his US counterpart Trump to halt such attacks. 

Putin agreed to a temporary ceasefire, announcing a 30-day pause on striking Ukrainian energy facilities following a call with Trump on Tuesday (Mar 18). 

"Unfortunately, so far see there has been no reciprocity on the part of the Kyiv regime. There were attempts to strike our energy infrastructure," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. 

"These attacks are countering our common (Russian-American) efforts."

Peskov said that Putin had "immediately" ordered a halt to energy attacks on Ukraine, alleging that seven Russian drones were already airborne, intended for Ukrainian energy infrastructure, but were intercepted and shot down by air defences. 

Both countries launched attacks on each other after the call took place between Trump and Putin.

(With inputs from agencies)