Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) are seen after a swap, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at an unknown location in Ukraine, in this handout picture released June 9, 2025. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy Via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS
CHERNIHIV REGION, Ukraine (Reuters) -Russia and Ukraine exchanged prisoners of war under the age of 25 on Monday in emotional homecoming scenes, the first step in a series of planned prisoner swaps that could become the biggest of the war so far.
The exchange was the result of direct talks between the two sides in Istanbul on June 2 that resulted in an agreement to exchange at least 1,200 POWs on each side and to repatriate thousands of bodies of those killed in Russia's war in Ukraine.
