Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said 10 soldiers — members of the Armed Forces and the National Guard who had defended the country on the Donetsk front — returned to Ukraine as part of a "special stage of the exchange." All of them had been listed as missing in action, Zelensky stressed. The swap was organized through the territory of Belarus.
The Belarusian side confirmed that an exchange between Russia and Ukraine on a "10 for 10" basis took place on its territory on Aug. 24. According to the Belarusian TV channel Pervyi Informatsionny, 10 Russian servicemen held in Ukrainian captivity returned to Russia, while 10 citizens were handed over to Ukraine. However, Belarusian official Irina Kostevich said the people handed to Ukraine were not prisoners of war but citizens who "were on the territory of the Republic of Belarus and violated migration and other legislation." Ukraine, in turn, handed over 10 Russian prisoners of war, who will be sent to Russia after receiving medical care, she said.
The Russian side has not officially commented on the exchange. The state agency BelTA called the event "another humanitarian mission," noting that Belarus "consistently adheres to a peaceful position and acts as a reliable platform for dialogue."
The accounts diverge: Zelensky describes the people handed to Ukraine as servicemen of the Armed Forces and the National Guard who had been in captivity, while Belarus's Kostevich claims they were Ukrainian citizens detained for violating migration legislation, not prisoners of war.