Ukraine Returns 270 in New POW Exchange

Ukraine and Russia carried out a prisoner exchange on Friday, Oct. 23. Ukraine received 270 people, including military personnel and nine civilians. Most had been held in Russian captivity since 2022. The exchange mattered because it reunited families with people captured during some of the war’s most important battles.

Many returnees had defended Mariupol, including fighters from the Azov unit. Others served with Ukraine’s National Guard, border guards, Territorial Defense, Navy, Ground Forces, Air Assault Forces, and State Special Transport Service. Some had been illegally convicted in Russia, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The exchange also brought home five Ukrainians who survived the July 2022 attack on the Olenivka prison. Ukraine’s state project reported that 270 Russian soldiers returned to Russia, including 150 located through their families’ efforts. The exchange was the first major known exchange in two months.

A prisoner of war, or POW, is a member of an opposing armed force captured during an international armed conflict. POW status is meant to protect captured fighters from abuse and ensure they are treated humanely. It does not mean they are ordinary criminals simply because they fought for their country.

In an exchange, each side identifies people it holds, confirms their status, and agrees on who will be released. The parties then transfer them through an arranged location or intermediary. The numbers may be equal, as in the reported return of 270 Russian soldiers for 270 Ukrainians, but the article does not describe the negotiation terms.

The process can also depend on families and official records. Ukraine’s I Want to Find project helped relatives confirm that 150 Russian soldiers were captive. That confirmation helped establish official POW status in Russia and supported their inclusion in the exchange.

Ukraine brought home 270 people, while the Ukrainian project I Want to Find reported that 270 Russian soldiers returned to Russia. Taken together, the reported exchange involved 540 people returning to their countries. The article describes it as the first major known POW exchange in two months.

Ukraine’s returnees included nine civilians and military personnel from the National Guard, border guards, Territorial Defense, Navy, Ground Forces, Air Assault Forces, and State Special Transport Service. Many had defended Mariupol. Others had served in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, and Chernihiv sectors.

The Russian group included soldiers whose families had located them through Ukraine’s project. Half were aged 35 to 44, and people aged 19 to 24 formed the next-largest age group at 21 percent. The group also included 11 POWs older than 55 and personnel from the occupied Donetsk and Luhansk areas.

Mariupol became one of the war’s central battles, and many Ukrainian defenders were captured after fighting there. The city’s southern port position made its defense strategically important. Its defenders remained under siege, including at the Azovstal steel plant, before many were taken into Russian captivity.

The article identifies most returnees as soldiers who defended Mariupol. Many were members of the Azov Regiment, which had defended Azovstal. The released group also included National Guard fighters from the Azov unit, along with personnel from other Ukrainian forces and services.

Their captivity lasted for years in some cases. Most of the Ukrainians had been held since 2022, and many were illegally convicted in Russia, according to Zelensky. Their return therefore combined a battlefield story with a long detention crisis. It also explains why this exchange carried particular significance for families of Mariupol defenders.

The Olenivka prison attack was a mass killing at Penal Colony No. 120 in Russian-occupied Olenivka, in Donetsk region. It happened on the night of July 29, 2022, while Ukrainian prisoners of war were held there. Open-source data cited in the article recorded more than 53 defenders killed and over 130 wounded.

Most victims were members of the Azov Regiment. They had defended the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol before entering captivity. The article does not identify who caused the attack, but it describes the event as Russia’s July 2022 attack on the Olenivka prison.

Five people who returned in the exchange had been believed to have died in that attack. Their survival changed the understanding of what happened to them and gave their families a long-awaited reunion. Zelensky also said Ukraine would continue searching for everyone still missing and remember every victim.

Capturing enemy soldiers gives a country a concrete bargaining resource: people whose identities and whereabouts can be documented. POW status also creates a formal record that the captives are being held, rather than simply missing or killed. That clarity can focus negotiations and humanitarian pressure.

The article gives a direct example. Ukraine’s I Want to Find project provided information about Russian personnel captured, missing, or killed. Relatives located 150 of the Russian soldiers through the project. The information helped families confirm captivity and secure official POW status for those soldiers in Russia.

That status can help place a person on an exchange list. Zelensky thanked Ukrainian troops for capturing Russian personnel because those captures help bring Ukrainians home. The article also reports public pressure from families and POWs from occupied Donetsk and Luhansk, which helped bring dozens of them into the exchange.

International humanitarian law requires POWs to be treated humanely. They must be protected from murder, torture, cruel treatment, humiliating treatment, and coercion. They should receive adequate food, shelter, medical care, and communication with families. Their detention is generally allowed to prevent them returning to combat, not to punish them for taking part in lawful fighting.

POWs also have legal safeguards. They cannot be prosecuted merely for fighting as members of an opposing armed force, though they may face trial for alleged war crimes or other crimes. Any trial must be independent and fair. The article reports that many Ukrainians were illegally convicted in Russia, a claim that raises concerns about whether those safeguards were respected.

Breaking these rules can itself constitute a war crime. The exact legal classification depends on the conduct and evidence. The Olenivka deaths, reported injuries, alleged illegal convictions, and treatment of detainees therefore carry significance beyond the exchange itself.