Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 25 prisoners of war each after negotiations mediated by the United Arab Emirates, according to statements from both sides.

Russia and Ukraine announced on Monday that they had exchanged more than 300 prisoners of war in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates. The swap comes just weeks before American military aid for Kyiv is likely to be thrown into question under the Trump administration.

Russia and Ukraine have exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates. The Russian defence ministry said it had swapped 150 Ukrainian soldiers held captive for an equal number of Russian troops. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy said 189 Ukrainians had returned home.

The prisoners returned to Russia were captured during Ukraine's Kursk offensive in late summer. This is the 11th such swap this year between the two nations and brings the total number of Ukrainian prisoners returned by Russia in 2024 to 1,

The United Arab Emirates has announced the success of mediation efforts in a new exchange of war captives between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Ukraine, which included 25 Ukrainian captives and 25 Russian captives - 50 captives in total - bringing the overall number exchanged through the UAE mediation efforts to 2,

Russia and Ukraine exchanged 25 prisoners of war each in their first swap of 2025, officials from both countries announced Wednesday. Thousands of captives have been returned in similar exchanges since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022,