Russia And Ukraine Carried Out A Prisoner Exchange Via Belarus

• 23.10.2026, 14:33

The exchange took place on a "270 for 270" basis.

On October 23, 270 Ukrainian servicemen were returned from Russian territory. In exchange, 270 prisoners of war from the occupying forces were handed over. The returned Russian servicemen are currently in the Republic of Belarus.

Ukraine also repatriated seven civilians who had been in Russia. The same number of civilians returned to Russia. This was reported by the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets.

He noted that the exchange took place with the support of the International Committee of the Red Cross as part of agreements with the Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova. Among those who returned home were a 90-year-old woman with limited mobility and a 50-year-old Ukrainian woman who had suffered a heart attack and a stroke and was suffering from other illnesses.

“Given the health conditions of both women, the necessary transportation arrangements were made when organizing their return,” Lubinets added.

As part of the exchange, a young woman with a child—who had been in Mariupol at the start of the full-scale invasion—was also successfully returned home. Due to the hostilities and the occupation of the city, she had been unable to return to her family. A major obstacle to this was the process of obtaining the child’s documents. They are now home; although they need psychological support, they are happy to be in Ukraine, Lubinets emphasized.

The day before, the parties exchanged the remains of fallen servicemen on a 252-for-25 basis.

The previous prisoner exchange took place on a “103 for 103” basis: on August 19, the parties handed over prisoners to each other at the “Novaya Guta” checkpoint in the Gomel Region of Belarus.