A major prisoner exchange could take place as early as next week: what the OP says
Kyiv • UNN
Kyrylo Budanov said that a new prisoner exchange could take place next week. The date and number of people were not specified.
Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov expressed hope that a new prisoner exchange could take place as early as next week. UNN reports this, citing Novyny.LIVE.
He did not name a specific date or the number of people planned to be returned.
Details
Answering a question about the prisoner exchange, the head of the Office of the President noted that news could emerge in the near future.
"It should happen very quickly, in the nearest future. I think, within a week," Budanov said.
When the journalist clarified whether he meant specifically next week, he replied: "We hope so."
What previous statements were made about preparations for the exchange
At the end of August, Budanov had already reported that Ukraine was preparing for a new major prisoner exchange. At the time, he noted that contacts with the Russian side mainly concerned the return of people from captivity. At the same time, in his current comment, the head of the Office of the President did not clarify whether the expected exchange was connected with the preparations he had mentioned earlier.
Whom Ukraine returned during the previous stages
According to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, on August 19, 2026, as part of the first stage of the latest exchange, 103 Ukrainian servicemen were liberated from Russian captivity. Most of them had injuries and serious illnesses. Those released included representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Navy, the Territorial Defense Forces, the National Guard, and the State Border Guard Service. Soldiers, sergeants, and officers returned home. At the time, the Coordination Headquarters expressed gratitude to the United States and the United Arab Emirates for their assistance in organizing the exchange.
The second stage took place on August 24, Ukraine's Independence Day. Another ten Ukrainian servicemen—representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard—were returned from the territory of Belarus. A distinctive feature of this stage was that all ten had previously been listed as missing. They had defended Ukraine in the Donetsk sector. Two had been considered missing since 2024, and another eight since 2025.
Nearly 9,700 citizens returned
A September 7 report by the Main Directorate of Intelligence, citing the Chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence and head of the Coordination Headquarters, Oleh Ivashchenko, stated that 9,726 Ukrainian citizens had been returned home through 77 exchanges and other liberation efforts. This figure includes the results of both exchanges and other operations to return Ukrainians from captivity.
The Coordination Headquarters explains that, during work on exchanges, it considers both servicemen whose presence in captivity has been confirmed and those considered missing. Information about them is collected and updated in the relevant information system.
The Coordination Headquarters does not disclose lists of prisoners and those released for security reasons. Families receive notification that their loved one has been returned by phone, via SMS, and in the "Diia" application.