Russia and Ukraine each released 160 captured soldiers in a prisoner exchange on the date of June 26, 2026. Both Moscow and Kyiv confirmed the swap, continuing one of the few forms of direct practical coordination between the countries during the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said all of the Ukrainians returned in the exchange had been held since 2022, the year Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Images he posted showed released men wearing or wrapped in Ukraine's blue-and-yellow flags, greeting others after their return. The supplied report did not identify the individuals released by either side or specify where the handover occurred.
The exchange was accompanied by contact between the officials responsible for prisoner rights. Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova said she and her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Lubinets, agreed to conduct joint visits to prisoners of war. They also exchanged lists of personnel still held, according to Russia's state RIA news agency. The evidence did not give a timetable for the proposed visits or another exchange.
The swap took place as fighting and long-range attacks continued. Russian-installed authorities in Crimea declared an emergency amid fuel shortages and power cuts that they attributed to Ukrainian attacks on logistics chains and oil facilities. Russia's Defence Ministry said air defences had brought down 660 Ukrainian drones overnight, including aircraft directed toward Moscow and Crimea.
Zelensky described Ukraine's expanded attacks on occupied Crimea and Russian-controlled infrastructure as an effort to force Moscow toward peace and restore justice. Russian authorities imposed restrictions on fuel sales to private motorists in Crimea, while Sevastopol limited operating hours for public transport, shops, cafes and street lighting. Those accounts were provided by the opposing governments and were not independently confirmed in every detail.
Russian strikes also caused civilian casualties in Ukraine on Friday. Regional officials said a drone attack killed two passengers in a minibus in Nikopol and injured 12 people, including two children. A separate drone strike killed a man near Sumy. These attacks illustrated that the exchange did not amount to a pause in hostilities.
The verified core of the event was a reciprocal release of equal numbers of service members. The additional agreement between Lantratova and Lubinets suggested a possible channel for monitoring detention conditions and identifying people held by both countries. Yet no broader settlement accompanied the operation, and the same day brought new strikes, emergency measures and casualties. The exchange returned 320 people in total while leaving the larger prisoner issue and the war unresolved. Neither government disclosed how many prisoners remained in custody.
