Zelenskyy Invites Putin for Talks; Russia and Ukraine Exchange 185 Prisoners Each

Russia and Ukraine announced on Wednesday (June 5) that they had exchanged 185 prisoners of war each. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the two sides have exchanged thousands of captured soldiers through dozens of rounds of prisoner swaps, one of the few areas of cooperation between the warring parties.

According to AFP, the Russian Defense Ministry stated: "On June 5, 185 Russian servicemen returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime. 185 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been handed over to the Ukrainian side as part of the exchange."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that some of the released Ukrainian soldiers had been held by Russia since 2022.

He wrote on social media: "Bringing our people home is always Ukraine's top priority. We work every day to free every Ukrainian man and woman from captivity."

The day before the latest prisoner exchange, Zelenskyy had called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to face-to-face talks to end the four-year Russia-Ukraine conflict.