Photos capture Ukrainian POWs' return after prisoner swap with Russia

Ukraine and Russia swapped around 200 prisoners of war each on Wednesday, both countries said.

The swap, which took place at an undisclosed location, brought the total number of POWs repatriated on both sides to more than 3,000 since the start of Russia's 2022 invasion.

The specific number of prisoners swapped is not clear. Russia's Defense Ministry said the countries exchanged 195 POWs each, the Associated Press reported, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement 207 Ukrainians were freed.

The swap took place despite tensions resulting from a crash of a military transport plane last week that Russia claimed was carrying Ukrainian POWs and was shot down by Ukraine's forces.

On Thursday, European Union leaders approved a $55 billion support package for Ukraine, an agreement that followed months of delays caused by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Photos and videos captured the emotion of Ukrainian soldiers as they were freed from Russian captivity.

Photos: Russia, Ukraine swap about 200 prisoners of war

Contributing: Associated Press; Kim Hjelmgaard, Paste BN.