What the late-December 2024 exchanges meant for Ukraine's captives
A look back at a prisoner swap and a reported capture in Kursk Oblast, as seen from 2 January 2025.
What did the final days of 2024 reveal about the fate of prisoners in Russia's war against Ukraine? On 2 January 2025, two recent developments framed that question.
On 30 December 2024, Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates. Ukraine said that many of those released by Russia were soldiers captured during the Siege of Mariupol in 2022. For families waiting for news of those held since then, the swap marked a notable moment.
Three days earlier, on 27 December 2024, South Korea confirmed the first capture of a North Korean soldier fighting against Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast, Russia. The soldier later died from his injuries.
The wider concern
The treatment of captives has been a continuing concern throughout the war. Prisoners of war on both the Ukrainian and the Russian or separatist sides have suffered several forms of abuse, including mistreatment, exposure to public curiosity, torture and even execution.
Seen from 2 January 2025, the two events pointed in different directions. One showed that negotiated releases, with a Gulf state as intermediary, could still bring hundreds of people home. The other showed that the Kursk fighting involved North Korean troops and that at least one had been taken prisoner.
