# Russia and Ukraine Swap 270 Prisoners Each in Major Exchange Bringing Long‑Held Captives Home

*Friday, October 23, 2026 at 2:07 PM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk*

**Published**: 2026-10-23T14:07:30.115Z (2h ago)
**Category**: conflict | **Region**: Eastern Europe
**Importance**: 8/10
**Sources**: OSINT
**Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/articles/21328.md
**Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries

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**Deck**: Russia and Ukraine carried out their ninth prisoner exchange of the year, returning 270 people to each side, including Ukrainian defenders captured in 2022 and some held since 2018 and 2020.

One of the largest prisoner swaps of the year has sent hundreds of Russian and Ukrainian captives back to their own countries, offering a rare moment of relief in a grinding war.

Officials on both sides say Russia and Ukraine conducted their ninth prisoner exchange of 2026, with 270 individuals repatriated to each country. Russia’s Ministry of Defense published video of freed Russian soldiers arriving in Belarus from Ukrainian captivity, describing them as returning military personnel. Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova said she is working with the repatriated troops.

In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that 270 Ukrainians had come home in the swap, most of them captured in 2022. Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said many of the returnees took part in the defense of Mariupol and were seized during that battle.

The coordination body added that the group includes 38 officers and a mix of National Guard troops, Azov fighters, border guards, Navy sailors, Ground Forces and Air Assault troops, along with personnel from other branches and services. Nine civilians also came back as part of the deal.

Some of those released had been in captivity far longer than the current phase of the war. Ukrainian officials say certain servicemen were captured in 2018 and 2020, meaning they had been held for six and eight years. Separate statements from Ukrainian officials note that among those freed were soldiers who survived the Olenivka prison blast and that nine of the returnees are seriously ill.

Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, described the exchange as the operation that returned the largest number of illegally convicted Ukrainian military personnel so far. Kyiv’s Coordination Headquarters says more than half of the 270 Ukrainians freed were captured in 2022, including defenders of Mariupol, and that five survivors of the Olenivka massacre and several long‑term captives were among them.

On the Russian side, officials have not publicly broken down the categories of personnel returned but emphasize that 270 Russian military personnel are now back on home‑controlled territory. The swap took place without visible third‑party mediation this time; earlier exchanges had seen reported assistance from the United Arab Emirates.

For families, these numbers translate into long‑awaited phone calls and reunions. Ukrainian authorities stress that today’s exchange also brought home 86 servicemembers they describe as illegally convicted, plus one defender who had been under criminal prosecution, illustrating how battlefield captives and those taken through legal processes are being traded together.

Practically, the 270‑for‑270 balance shows that Moscow and Kyiv are still able to negotiate tightly defined deals even as front lines remain active. These exchanges require coordination on lists, verification and transfer logistics that only function if both sides see value in keeping this channel open.

Signals to monitor now include the medical care and legal status granted to returnees in both countries, domestic pressure to account for those still missing, and whether outside actors such as the International Committee of the Red Cross gain any broader access to remaining prisoners as groundwork for future swaps.