RFE/RL reported that Russia proposed the largest prisoner exchange since the war’s beginning on 27 November, suggesting a 630-for-630 swap between Russian and Ukrainian military personnel.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova announced the proposal during a press conference, stating,
“We leave it to Ukraine to decide which Russian military personnel to include in the exchange,” she said, according to Ukrainian media reports.
RFE/RL notes that the proposal coincides with reports from pro-Ukrainian telegram channels claiming that Ukrainian Special Operations Forces captured several dozen Russian marines from an elite brigade in Russia’s Kursk Oblast. Video footage allegedly showing prisoners identifying themselves as members of the 810th Marine Brigade has circulated online, though the Russian Defense Ministry has not commented on these claims.
Ukrainian authorities have not yet responded to Zakharova’s proposal. However, the pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Readovka asserts that an exchange agreement with Ukraine has already been reached, according to RFE/RL.
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- Russia fails to return body of Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna in prisoner swap
- ISW: Kursk incursion speeds up Ukraine-Russia POW swaps
- 95 Ukrainian defenders return from Russian captivity, including Azov fighters and POWs facing life sentences
- Ukrainian Ombudsman Lubinets: International organizations remain silent on Russian executions of Ukrainian POWS
