[REVISION HISTORY]

Ukraine-Russia prisoner and remains exchanges

Updated 3 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-08-13 20:41 UTC → 2026-08-24 19:51 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Limited cooperation between Kyiv and Moscow has continued through the exchange of prisoners and the repatriation of deceased military personnel. In late July, the Ukrainian Coordination Staff for Prisoner Affairs reported that twenty Russian soldiers were taken into custody after surrendering for a second time. The staff noted that such repeated surrenders occur because Russian commanders often redeploy soldiers who previously attempted to surrender back to the front lines. The staff highlighted humanitarian projects like ‘I Want to Live’ and ‘I Want to Find’ designed to encourage combatants to lay down their arms. On August 13, a new exchange of deceased soldiers was conducted at the Novaya Guta checkpoint in Belarus, facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross. During this exchange, Ukraine received 261 bodies, while Russia received 24. Ukrainian authorities reiterated that returned remains undergo a comprehensive identification process before being officially ~~recognized as soldiers.~~ recognized. Data regarding the scale of these repatriations shows a significant imbalance. Since the start of the invasion, Russian officials claim to have handed over approximately 26,239 remains of Ukrainian military personnel, while Ukraine has returned 3,538 Russian bodies. In ~~2026 alone,~~ 2026, the ratio of returned remains has reached approximately 19.8 to 1. ~~These exchanges remain among the only tangible results of negotiations since the invasion began, as broader diplomatic efforts to end the conflict remain stalled.~~ Adding to ~~the~~ tensions ~~surrounding~~ regarding prisoner treatment, Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets has accused Russian forces of executing at least 345 Ukrainian soldiers who had surrendered since the start of the full-scale invasion. Lubinets alleged that Russian troops disarmed prisoners and, in some instances, forced them to strip before killing them with close-range gunfire. He further alleged that Russia is concealing detention conditions, noting that the International Committee of the Red Cross has not been granted access to Ukrainian prisoner locations since 2022. On August 24, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the return of ten Ukrainian service members, including personnel from the Armed Forces and the National Guard who had been defending the Donetsk sector. This group, which includes individuals missing since 2024 and 2025, arrived via Belarus as part of the second stage of a recent prisoner swap.

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