Ukraine and Russia hold the first stage of "1000 for 1000" exchange: photos and video

The first stage took place on Friday - 390 Ukrainians returned home. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the exchange would continue on Saturday and Sunday. He expressed gratitude to everyone who helped to return the Ukrainians and noted that the country would continue diplomatic work to ensure that such steps take place regularly.

Among those released are 270 servicemen and 120 civilians. These are fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Navy, Airborne Assault Troops, Territorial Defence Forces, National Guard and State Border Guard Service. They defended the country in the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions, as well as in the Chernihiv, Sumy and Kyiv regions. 387 men and three women have been released. Upon return, all of them will undergo medical examinations, receive physical and psychological rehabilitation assistance, payments for the time spent in captivity, and support to return to peaceful life.

The agreement on the exchange was reached on 16 May 2025 in Istanbul, the first meeting between representatives of Ukraine and Russia in three years. The Ukrainian delegation was headed by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, while the Russian delegation was headed by Vladimir Medinsky. According to CNN, the agreement was initiated by Turkey. After the agreements were reached, active preparations began: lists were formed, the necessary infrastructure was provided, and medical support was organised.

President Zelenskyy stressed that the "1000 by 1000" format concerns only the exchange of prisoners of war. He added that Ukraine was against the exchange of civilians, including children, for military personnel. According to him, the return of civilians should take place without conditions.

Earlier, Socialportal wrote about the story of Ukrainian human rights defender Maksym Butkevych, who spent more than two years in Russian captivity. Maksym was sentenced to 13 years in the Russian Federation on a trumped-up case, which claimed that he was an extremist who ran a group of far-right radicals. These charges shocked everyone who knew Maksim. He was a human rights activist for decades, co-founder of the organisation Without Borders, and one of the few people in Ukraine who cared about the fate of asylum seekers, refugees, and foreign students who faced arbitrariness, rudeness, and intolerance. He also helped political refugees stemming from authoritarian regimes, primarily Putin's.