Russia and Ukraine Planning New POW Exchange, State Duma Lawmaker Says

April 24, 2026

Russia and Ukraine plan to carry out a new prisoner-of-war exchange on Friday, a State Duma member involved in negotiations on the matter told the RBC news outlet.

Shamsail Saraliyev, a lawmaker from the ruling United Russia party and member of the parliamentary coordination group overseeing the conflict, did not disclose how many POWs are expected to be returned later in the day.

There was no immediate confirmation of the swap by Ukraine.

The anticipated exchange follows a significant “175-for-175” swap on April 11, which was brokered by the United Arab Emirates just ahead of a brief Orthodox Easter truce. That deal also included the return of the remaining seven residents of Russia’s Kursk region who had been held by Kyiv following the 2024 Ukrainian incursion of the border region.

Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova and her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Lubinets, have maintained a rare open channel of communication to verify the status of POWs and detained civilians, even as broader diplomatic efforts to end the war remain frozen.

Last month, Russia and Ukraine released 500 POWs each in a two-day exchange mediated by the United States and the UAE. The warring sides have carried out dozens of exchanges of prisoners and fallen soldiers since last spring.

Talks to end the conflict, now in its fifth year, have stalled since the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran in February.

Read more about: Prisoners of war , Ukraine war

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