Ukraine's Presidential Office is actively working toward a large-scale prisoner of war exchange with Russia to coincide with Easter, the head of the office, Kyrylo Budanov, said at an event marking the first anniversary of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, RBK-Ukraine reports.
"Negotiations are ongoing and new exchanges will happen. I very much hope that at Easter we will all see a major exchange," Budanov said, adding that everything necessary would be done to make it happen.
Work on returning Ukrainian soldiers from Russian captivity, he said, continues every day
Easter timing
Orthodox Easter falls on 12 April this year — the date relevant for the potential exchange given the religious calendars of both sides. Roman Catholics and most Protestant congregations celebrate Easter on 5 April. The date of Easter is calculated annually according to a formula that accounts for the spring equinox and the first full moon after it; the use of different calendar systems means the Catholic and Orthodox dates frequently diverge.
Recent exchanges
The announcement comes after Ukraine carried out two rounds of prisoner swaps with Russia on 5 and 6 March. The first round returned 200 Ukrainian soldiers; the second brought home a further 300. Some of those released had been held in Russian captivity since 2022.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that since the start of the full-scale war, Ukraine has secured the return of 8,669 Ukrainians from Russian captivity in total.
