The “1000 for 1000” exchange was the result of negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian delegations that took place on May 16 in Istanbul.
It was only the second direct meeting of the parties in more than three years since the start of the full-scale invasion. It was not possible to agree on a ceasefire, but the parties agreed on a large-scale exchange of prisoners. It took place in three stages — from May 23 to 25. At the same time, it was during this period that Russia carried out the most massive air attacks since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Trilateral meeting Turkey-Russia-Ukraine in Istanbul. On the left is the Ukrainian delegation, on the right is the Russian delegation.
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Politico writes that the US President Donald Trump welcomed the exchange as a diplomatic breakthrough and a potential step towards ending the war. However, after further massive Russian attacks on Ukrainian territory, he expressed disappointment with the Kremlinʼs actions.
The exchange was accompanied by an information campaign by the Russian media.
On the eve and on the days of the exchange, the Russian agency “RIA Novosti” published a series of videos with Ukrainian prisoners of war — probably those who were soon returned to Ukraine. In these videos, the prisoners talk about good conditions in Russian colonies, regular medical care, and also explain the reasons for their captivity — they mention insufficient training, bad attitude of the command and the alleged betrayal of some comrades. By this, the Russian side once again violated the Geneva Conventions.
The day after the exchange was completed, the Coordination Headquarters reported that it had managed to release fighters from 46 units, from which no one had previously been returned.
The specific units were not named, but the exchange covered many military formations. Among those who returned were five DTEK employees — miners, a miner, a machinist, and an energy engineer. One of the miners is a National Guard serviceman.
Families of Ukrainian prisoners of war are contacting released fighters to find out if they saw their relatives in captivity.
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Also among the released are fighters from units that are usually rarely included in the exchange lists or that Russia gives up in small groups, such as the Airborne Assault Troops, Marine Corps, Special Operations Forces, and Territorial Defense Forces. 175 defenders of Mariupol returned home — including 81 prisoners from “Azovstal” and more than 70 marines who held defense at other plants in the city. In total, 311 fighters had been in captivity since 2022. All of the released are Ukrainians aged 25 to 60. Citizens of other countries were not exchanged this time.
On the eve of the exchange, Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that this was primarily an exchange of prisoners of war. He did not specify whether there had been any agreement on the return of civilians, but noted that exchanging children for military personnel was "outside the law". However, 120 civilians also returned home.
The network drew attention to the fact that there was not a single “Azov” fighter among the released.
The exchange coincided with the third anniversary of the unitʼs withdrawal from “Azovstal”. At the same time, volunteers from other units were among the returnees. The fighters who were in the Olenivka colony at the time of the explosion were also not exchanged — most of them were seriously injured. According to available data, almost 100 people survived the terrorist attack, of which 49 seriously injured are still in captivity.
Families of Ukrainian prisoners of war are contacting released fighters to find out if they saw their relatives in captivity.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
The Main Intelligence Directorate (known as GUR) explained that this time Russia independently formed the lists for exchange — Ukraine also acted on a similar principle. Thanks to this, Ukraine managed to hand over to the Russians approximately 70 citizens convicted of collaborationism — mostly civilians.
Among those who returned to Ukraine as part of the exchange may be a Ukrainian suspected of collaborationism Anatoliy Taranenko. According to Russian media, he is a former driver-mechanic of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who switched sides to the “DPR” group in February 2021.
Anatoliy Taranenko (right) next to the head of the so-called "DPR" militia Eduard Basurin.
Then a photo was published with Taranenko, where he, together with a “DPR” militant, visits a memorial to “the children of Donbas who died at the hands of Ukrainian soldiers”. This is not the first time that Russia has apparently returned collaborators to Ukraine.
The Coordination Headquarters project "Хочу к Своим" has published the names of 31 people transferred to Russia.
Among them are people who were detained from a month to a year. These are residents of various regions of Ukraine — both those occupied after February 24, 2022, and those that remained under the control of the Ukrainian authorities.
All of them were accused of collaborating with the enemy. Some provided the “DPR” militants with information about the location of Ukrainian positions and the movement of equipment. Others informed Russian security forces, maintained contact with former comrades who had defected to the enemy, or publicly distributed materials justifying Russian aggression. Among them are also those accused of creating charitable foundations and public organizations to finance pro-Russian propaganda and discredit the Ukrainian authorities.
This exchange model is believed to have helped Ukraine return more than 120 civilians, the largest number of civilians ever released in a single formal exchange. While international law prohibits the exchange of civilians, the transfer of prisoners who have agreed to do so voluntarily allows for the legal framework. At the same time, none of the released civilians were civilians who had been captured before the full-scale invasion.
According to the Russian side, Russia, like Ukraine, returned 880 military personnel and 120 civilians.
Among the returnees are career military personnel, representatives of national minorities of the Russian Federation, including those from Buryatia, etc. At the same time, according to available information, not a single North Korean citizen was transferred as part of the exchange.
Ukrainian military personnel return from captivity during the third stage of the "1000 for 1000" exchange, May 25, 2025.
Getty Images / «Babel'»