Russia and Ukraine said Saturday they had exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war, the largest exchange since Russia launched its full-scale invasion more than three years ago.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced that 246 Russian soldiers had been returned from Kiev-controlled territory and that “as a gesture of goodwill” 31 wounded Ukrainian prisoners of war had been handed over in exchange for 15 wounded Russian servicemen who urgently needed medical care.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that 277 Ukrainian “soldiers have returned home from Russian captivity.”
The news came after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine for Easter, the Kremlin press service said on Saturday.
According to the Kremlin, the ceasefire will last from 6:00 p.m. Saturday until midnight on Easter Sunday Moscow time.
“Guided by humanitarian considerations, from 18:00 to 00:00 from Sunday to Monday, the Russian side is declaring an Easter truce,” Putin said at a meeting with Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, as reported by his press service.
“I order the cessation of all military actions during this period,” Putin added.
“We expect the Ukrainian side to act in a similar manner. At the same time, our troops must be prepared for possible violations of the ceasefire and provocations from the enemy, any aggressive actions from him,” Putin noted.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the announced ceasefire as “another attempt by Putin to manipulate human lives.”
He wrote in X that “air raid sirens are sounding across Ukraine” and “killer drones in our skies show Putin’s true attitude toward Easter and human life.”
Putin's comments came after US President Donald Trump said on Friday that talks between Ukraine and Russia had “reached a critical point”, insisting that neither side was “playing” with him in his bid to end the protracted three-year war.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
