100 Ukrainians returned during Russia and Ukraine prisoner swap

A Russian and Ukrainian prisoner swap resulted in the return of 100 Ukrainians from captivity Thursday, authorities said.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said in a Telegram post Thursday that in exchange for 100 Russian service members, 100 Ukrainian prisoners of war were given to the Ukrainian military, according to a translation. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense celebrated the return of the prisoners of war in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

“100 Ukrainian warriors returned home from the [R]ussian captivity,” the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense wrote. “Most of them are the defenders of Mariupol. We will return all of our people.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview that aired Thursday with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he is open to negotiations on the war with Ukraine with the U.S. He said Russia has “never refused negotiations” and would be receptive to efforts by the U.S. for discussions on a peace agreement in Ukraine.

“We hear all the time, ‘Is Russia ready?’ Yes,” Putin said. “We have not refused. It was them who publicly refused.”

The Russian president also reiterated a claim that his country was ready to sign an agreement with Ukraine shortly after the current conflict began. Putin said that Great Britain’s prime minister at the time, Boris Johnson, stopped the deal because of Ukraine’s success, which Johnson has denied.

On the same day of the prisoner exchange, the Senate voted to advance a $95 billion foreign aid package that has $60 billion for support in the war in Ukraine in the wake of a notable bipartisan deal failing a day before that combined foreign aid and border security reforms.