Russia, Ukraine exchange 300 prisoners each

KYIV: Russia and Ukraine exchanged 300 POWs each on Friday, the two sides said, the second round of a swap that has seen 500 soldiers from both sides returning home.

The exchange was agreed during trilateral talks with the United States in Geneva last month. Prisoner swaps are one of the few areas of cooperation between the warring countries amid stalled negotiations on a deal to end the four-year war.

“Another 300 Ukrainian defenders are returning home from Russian captivity,” said President Volodymyr Zelensky on social media, adding that two civilians figured among them.

He posted photos showing the soldiers leaving buses draped in Ukrainian flags, smiling, some of them smoking.

Ukraine accuses Hungary of kidnapping seven of its citizens who were transporting millions of dollars in cash and nine kilos of gold through the country

The Russian army earlier said that “300 Russian servicemen have been returned. In exchange, 300 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian armed forces have been handed over”.

On Thursday, Russia and Ukraine each released 200 soldiers. The exchanges were mediated by the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

Prisoner exchanges have been one of the few tangible results of talks between the sides, being pushed and mediated by Washington as it seeks to broker a deal to end the war.

Negotiations appear to have stalled, with the United States now focusing its attention on the Middle East.

Hungary expels seven Ukrainians

Hungary expelled seven detained Ukrainians, the government said on Friday, as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traded threats in a row over stalled Russian oil supplies.

Kyiv accused Budapest of kidnapping seven of its citizens, as Orban said he would use “every means” to pressure Ukraine over the Russian oil.

A day earlier, Zelensky appeared to have issued a direct threat against Orban, saying Ukraine’s armed forces would “talk to him in their own language”.

On Friday, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga accused Hungary of taking “hostage” a group of Ukrainian bank employees who were transporting $40 million, 35 million euros and nine kilograms of gold through the country.

Hungary’s tax authority said it detained seven Ukrainian citizens, including a former secret service general, and two armoured cash transport vehicles on Thursday.

Hungary “is conducting criminal proceedings on suspicion of money laundering”, it said in a statement, adding the investigation was done in cooperation with the counter-terrorism centre.

Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said those detained would be expelled.

“Authorities found the operation was supervised by a former general of the Ukrainian security service, with a former major of the Ukrainian air force acting as deputy and assisted by individuals with military experience,” he said on X.

“Based on these findings, all seven individuals will be expelled from Hungary,” he added.

Ukraine urged its citizens to avoid travel to Hungary, citing “the inability to guarantee their safety amid the arbitrary actions of the Hungarian authorities”.

In a radio interview, Hungary’s premier Viktor Orban said until the oil delivery issue is resolved, Hungary “will use every step and every means at our disposal”, including stopping “things passing through Hungary, things that are important to Ukraine”.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2026

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