Russia and Ukraine swap 500+ prisoners in what may be the biggest exchange yet
Freed Ukrainians include Mariupol defenders, injured troops, and one woman held since 2022.
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POWs
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US officials claim Russian army’s Chinese nationals are mercenaries not linked to Beijing
Reuters sources report that Russia is believed to have around 200 such mercenaries, while official Chinese military officers are visiting areas near the frontlines to gather tactical insights.
Russian families submit record number of inquiries to find missing in Ukraine as losses mount in Donetsk and Kursk oblasts
Ukraine's Want to Find project received a record 10,027 missing Russian soldier inquiries in March 2025, with heaviest losses reported in Pokrovsk and Bakhmut.
80% of Ukrainian POWs bodies’ show signs of torture
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, most Ukrainian POWs bodies returned home have signs of torture.
Zelenskyy: Release of all Ukrainian prisoners may be a step towards ending the war
Ukraine is ready to exchange all prisoners with Russia in what President Zelenskyy called a "fair option" during the Support Ukraine summit marking three years of full-scale war.
Chechnya holds 150 Ukrainian soldiers, reportedly uses POWs as human shields
"Ukraine's prisoner affairs office reports more than 150 of its soldiers are being held captive in Grozny, where Chechen authorities use them as human shields at military facilities. The Red Cross has been denied access to verify prisoners' conditions.
WSJ: Russian prison system designed special forces to torture program for Ukrainians
Major General Igor Potapenko instructed Russian prison special forces to "be cruel" to Ukrainian prisoners in March 2022, former officials told The Wall Street Journal.
HUR: Russia plans to recruit 126,000 prisoners and debtors for war in Ukraine in 2025
Russia plans to recruit 126,000 prisoners and debtors in 2025 to replace war losses, targeting 10,000 'special contingent' soldiers monthly amid intensified fighting in Ukraine.
Russia’s contract army strategy faces financial and demographic limits, says Ukrainian military expert
High-paying military contracts target Russia's poorest regions as Kremlin postpones visible urban recruitment.
Russia reportedly sentences seven Ukrainian POWs to 16-year terms in trial over Kursk incursion
Russia's use of its judiciary to legitimize prisoner detention and wartime propaganda.
Ukraine criticizes UN report on POW treatment as hundreds return from Russian captivity with life-threatening injuries
Ukraine's ombudsman criticizes UN report's equivalence of POW treatment, citing systematic pattern of returned Ukrainian prisoners bearing fatal injuries from Russian captivity while investigations address isolated Ukrainian violations.
Russia pressures Ukrainian POW families to spy in exchange of information on their relatives
Russian intelligence services are exploiting families' desperation for information about captured relatives to recruit them for espionage.
Russia holds 16,000 Ukrainian civilians captive, only 168 released since 2022, says Ombudsman Lubinets
International law prevents Ukraine from exchanging civilians for military prisoners, leaving thousands of detained Ukrainian civilians, including journalists and women, trapped in Russian prisons with limited options for release.
Russia holds 301 Ukrainian civilian women captive, human rights group reports
As Russia continues to withhold information about detained civilians, the human rights defender group have confirmed that at least 301 Ukrainian women are being held captive, with the vast majority seized during the full-scale war.
Inside Kremlin’s hidden torture camp for Ukrainians in Belarus
Journalists expose how Russia exploited Belarus state property for a filtration camp, trafficking hundreds of Ukrainians through the Chornobyl zone for factory-scale abuse.
Russia offers largest yet 630-for-630 POW swap to Ukraine
The Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson reportedly announced this, stating that Russia leaves it to Ukraine to decide which Russian military personnel to include in exchanges.
Ukrainian Ombudsman Lubinets: International organizations remain silent on Russian executions of Ukrainian POWS
Despite mounting evidence, international organizations remain silent, and no legal actions have been taken against the perpetrators.
Ukraine liberates 400 hectares of forest north of Lyptsi, Kharkiv Oblast
The operation resulted in the destruction of three Russian motorized rifle battalions and the capture of POWs, significantly weakening the invaders' position in the area, HUR says.
Russians reportedly execute 16 Ukrainian POWs from two units in Donbas
In October, a video surfaced showing the execution of 16 Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian soldiers in the Pokrovske direction, triggering a criminal investigation by Ukraine's Security Service (SBU).
Ukraine returns 115 prisoners of war on Independence Day, first exchange after Kursk incursion
This POWs exchange includes 82 defenders of Mariupol, captured in the early months of the full-scale invasion. President Zelenskyy thanked military units for replenishing Ukraine's "exchange fund," enabling the return of 115 defenders.