Ukraine and Russia agree to prisoner swap as Putin announces ceasefire

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking in Moscow (Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russia and Ukraine said on Saturday they had swapped hundreds of prisoners in the largest exchange since the Russian full-scale invasion started over three years ago.

Russia’s ministry of defence said that 246 Russian service members were returned from territory controlled by Kyiv and that, “as a gesture of goodwill”, 31 wounded Ukrainian prisoners of war were transferred in exchange for 15 wounded Russian soldiers in need of urgent medical care.