Russia has received 270 soldiers and 120 civilians on the first day of the exchange, the Defense Ministry has said

Russia and Ukraine have begun to swap prisoners as part of a major exchange agreed last week. The two sides each returned 270 soldiers and 120 civilians on Friday, according to the Defense Ministry in Moscow. The exchange is set to continue in the coming days, it added.

The Russian soldiers and civilians who have been released from Ukrainian captivity are currently in Belarus - Russia's close ally and neighbor, according to the ministry.

Residents of Russia's Kursk border region captured during the incursion launched by Ukrainian troops last year were among those returned as part of the exchange, the Russian military stated.

Kiev's forces in Kursk Region have since been fully driven out by Russian troops, and the recently liberated region was visited by President Vladimir Putin earlier this week.

Moscow and Kiev agreed to a 1,000-for-1,000 swap during direct talks in Istanbul last week. The negotiations were the first of their kind since Ukraine unilaterally withdrew from peace talks in 2022.

Russia is set to get back almost all the soldiers captured by Kiev's forces over the three years of conflict, the Mash Telegram channel has calculated. It put the total number of Russian POWs at around 1,300, adding that Ukraine is set to get back about one-tenth of its soldiers captured by Russia.

The development was welcomed by US President Donald Trump, who has pushed for direct peace talks between Moscow and Kiev as part of his conflict mediation efforts. "A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine. It will go into effect shortly. Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

While Russia and Ukraine have conducted multiple prisoner swaps since the escalation of the conflict in 2022, the latest exchange is set to become the largest.

The Istanbul talks followed an offer by Russian President Vladimir Putin to renew direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev without any preconditions. Moscow has insisted on working towards establishing a lasting peace that would resolve the root causes of the conflict.