Ukraine and Russia have conducted multiple prisoner of war (POW) exchanges since June 2025 under agreements reached during peace talks in Istanbul. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that these exchanges have brought home more than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers, including members of the Armed Forces, National Guard, State Border Guard Service, and State Transport Service. Most of the returned prisoners had been held in Russian captivity since 2022. The exchanged individuals include defenders who fought in key conflict regions such as Donetsk, Mariupol, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Sumy, Chernihiv, and Kyiv. Some of the POWs were seriously wounded or critically ill. The exchanges have involved both military personnel and civilians. The Russian Ministry of Defense also confirmed the return of Russian soldiers from Ukrainian-controlled territories as part of these swaps. The ongoing prisoner exchanges are part of the Istanbul agreements aimed at facilitating humanitarian relief and potential further negotiations between the two countries, although a formal ceasefire has not been agreed upon. The most recent exchange took place in early July 2025, marking the seventh such swap under the Istanbul framework.