Ukraine frees 270 from Russian captivity in “historic” prisoner swap, including 5 Olenivka survivors and American teacher Stephen Hubbard

On October 23, 2026, Ukraine successfully completed the third stage of a prisoner exchange with Russia, bringing home 270 individuals from Russian captivity. This includes 261 Ukrainian military personnel and nine civilians. The prisoner exchange, coordinated by Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, continues amid Russia's ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

However, with thousands of Ukrainians still held captive, each exchange only represents a fraction of those awaiting release. Most of the released individuals had been held since 2022, including five survivors of the July 2022 Russian attack on the Olenivka prison barracks. The exchange also included American teacher Stephen Hubbard, who was illegally captured by Russia in 2022 and sentenced and tortured by the country.

This prisoner swap is particularly significant for Ukraine as it is the largest release of military personnel sentenced by Russia, with 86 individuals facing criminal prosecution. Two of the released had been held since 2018 and 2020, spending eight and six years in captivity, respectively. The priorities for the exchange remain unchanged, focusing on returning those detained the longest, as well as the seriously ill and wounded.

Among the released, nine military personnel are seriously ill, with ages ranging from 24 to 63. Many of the released individuals faced fabricated charges and criminal prosecution in Russia, with some serving life sentences. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that most of those returning were captured in 2022 and had defended various regions, including Mariupol, the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, and Chernihiv directions.

Despite the exchange, Zelenskyy reiterated that they continue searching for every Ukrainian service member and civilian held captive.