19JUL

160 prisoners freed on each side

1 min read

13:35UTC

Russia and Ukraine each freed 160 soldiers on 26 June in an Emirati-brokered exchange; the freed Russians had been held in Belarus.

← Back to Fedorov sacked as the front stands still Jump to analysis ↓

ConflictDeveloping

Key takeaway

The humanitarian swap track keeps working while ceasefire talks stall, and the freed Russians came from Belarus.

Russia and Ukraine each freed 160 soldiers on 26 June in an exchange brokered by the United Arab Emirates, the Gulf state that has mediated several swaps in the war ¹. The freed soldiers had been held since 2022, and the released Russians had been held on Belarusian soil ².

The exchange continues a track that has kept moving even as ceasefire talks stalled. Istanbul Round 2 on 2 June agreed a 1,200-for-1,200 swap , and Ukraine completed the war's largest single exchange, a 1,000-prisoner deal, on 24 May . The Emirati channel has been the constant facilitator across the conflict, producing agreed lists faster than the Russia-Ukraine bilateral track alone. That the released Russians were held in Belarus threads this swap back into the week's Belarus story.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Russia and Ukraine swapped prisoners of war again, 160 soldiers each, on 26 June. The exchange was arranged with help from the United Arab Emirates, which has repeatedly stepped in to broker these swaps throughout the war. The freed Russian soldiers had been held in Belarus rather than Ukraine, a detail that shows how tangled up Belarus has become in the war despite formally staying out of the fighting.

What could happen next?

Meaning
That freed Russian soldiers were held in Belarus, not Ukraine, underlines how deeply Minsk's territory and personnel are entangled in the war despite formal non-belligerence.

Sources:RFE/RL·Ukrainska Pravda·Forbes Ukraine

Mentions:Russia →Ukraine →Belarus →United Arab Emirates (UAE) →Istanbul →

First Reported In

Update #22 · Belarus relays go dark on Kyiv's deadline

RFE/RL· 2 Jul 2026

Read original →

Causes and effects

Caused by

Istanbul Round 2: prisoners, no truce

The 160-for-160 swap continues the exchange track opened by the Istanbul Round 2 prisoner deal.

Occurred 2 Jun 2026

Read story →

War's biggest prisoner swap is completed

The exchange extends the pattern of large prisoner swaps following the 24 May 1,000-prisoner exchange.

Occurred 24 May 2026

Read story →

This Event

160 prisoners freed on each side

The swap keeps the one working humanitarian channel open, and the Belarus detention detail ties it back to the week's central story.

Different Perspectives

The United Kingdom

Starmer pledged £300 million in Kyiv on 16 July toward Ukraine's Gripen E squadron, adding to the PURL expansion Trump and Rutte had announced two days earlier. London is paying into a scheme built around a shortfall NATO's own published $4bn-plus pledge does not close against Zelenskyy's roughly $15bn stated need.

Brussels

The EU's 21st sanctions package missed its Coreper vote on 15 July over Greek LNG re-export rights and an Austrian bank compensation demand, the same week Hungary stalled accession clusters on procedure rather than veto. Both processes run on unanimity, so a single national interest, not Russia policy, sets the pace either can move at.

Hungary's Tisza government

Budapest refused to open EU accession Clusters 2 and 3 for Ukraine at COELA on 17 July, offering Moldova a standalone opening instead, and the question returns on 22 July. Having ended Orbán's blanket loan veto in May, it now blocks the narrower rule-of-law chapters where its own electorate is least comfortable.

Washington

Trump and Rutte expanded PURL on 14 July, letting allies fund the American interceptors and jets Washington will license but no longer gift outright. The same week, Lockheed Martin told allies it cannot guarantee PAC-3 MSE delivery timelines even after tripling output, so Washington now shapes Ukraine's air defence through a supply queue rather than a donation decision.

Moscow

Novak ordered a study into cutting the diesel exchange quota to 10% within a week of his export ban, while June delivered Russia's first budget surplus of 2026 and National Wealth Fund liquidity above its own May forecast. Its own investors disagree: the Moscow Exchange has fallen for its longest losing streak since 1997.

Ukraine's government and its street protesters

Zelenskyy sacked Fedorov on 15 July, installed an acting SBU officer in his place, and did not move against three days of protest that followed across eight cities. He is betting that visible tolerance for dissent, timed to EU accession hearings on rule of law, outweighs whatever command dispute forced the reshuffle.