In just 2.5 months, four major prisoner exchanges took place following the Kursk operation in Ukraine.
According to the Institute for the Study of War in the United States, since Ukraine’s surprise incursion in Russia‘s Kursk Oblast, on 6 August, prisoner swaps between the two nations have increased dramatically.
The Kursk operation saw Ukraine seize roughly 1,000 square kilometers (about 2,000 acres) of Russian territory. This was partly due Russia’s lack of preparation, as the border was mainly guarded mainly by conscripts and Chechens who surrendered large numbers. This operation had as its main objective to divert Russian troops from other fronts.
In just 2.5 months after the Kursk incursion there were four major prisoner exchanges, each side exchanging 362. This is a marked improvement from the three prisoner exchanges that took place in the seven months prior to 2024.
On 18 October, 95 prisoners were exchanged between the two sides. The Ukrainians who returned included 34 fighters of the Azov Brigade held captive for more than 2.5 years and prominent human rights activist Maksym Andkevych.
According to Want to Find – a Ukrainian government project that tracks Russian military casualties – the majority of returned Russian prisoners are young conscripts, who surrendered to the Ukrainian authorities in the Kursk area.
Oleksandr Pabliuk, commander of Ukraine’s Ground Forces criticized the biased media coverage of mobilization. He said that it criticizes military recruitment offices and tolerates dodgers disrupting mobilization.
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