"Thursday's prisoner exchange was, without question, a good day. In the 71st such swap since the start of the full-scale invasion, 314 prisoners of war were exchanged, 157 from each side. Of the Ukrainians who returned home, 150 were servicemen and seven were civilians: soldiers, sergeants, officers, and border guards from the Armed Forces, the National Guard, and the State Border Service."
"One of those freed was Marine Praporshchik (Warrant Officer) Eskender Kudusov, a Crimean Tatar Ukrainian marine. Through the Russian occupation authorities' so-called "court" system, Kudusov was first sentenced in 2023 to 25 years in prison. In October 2025, that sentence was increased to 29 years and six months. Human rights groups and Ukrainian sources have described the process as unlawful and politically motivated,"
"This practice is not unusual because I know it personally. In 2022, I was given a death sentence by a puppet court recognised by only a handful of states, Russia among them, but men and women walked free yesterday who should never have been imprisoned in the first place. Families were reunited, and for a few hours, the noise of geopolitics gave way to something simpler and far more important: people coming home and rarer these days, hapiness."
A prisoner exchange returned 314 prisoners of war, 157 from each side, in the 71st swap since the full-scale invasion. Of the Ukrainians released, 150 were servicemen and seven were civilians, including soldiers, sergeants, officers and border guards from the Armed Forces, the National Guard and the State Border Service. Many detainees had been held since 2022, including members of a Marine company. One freed Marine, Eskender Kudusov, had his sentence increased from 25 years to 29 years and six months after prosecution by occupation authorities. Human rights groups describe such prosecutions as unlawful and politically motivated. Families reunited briefly, but prisoner swaps should not be treated as proof of diplomatic progress or a functioning peace process.
Read at London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com
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