More than 100 women are freed in first all-female prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine 

Ukraine swapped more than 100 prisoners with Russia in what it said was the first all-female exchange since the war began.

‘Another large-scale exchange of prisoners of war was carried out… we freed 108 women from captivity. It was the first all-female exchange,’ said Andriy Yermak, the Ukraine presidency’s chief of staff, on social media.

Mr Yermak said some Ukrainians exchanged were mothers and daughters who had been held together. 

Ukraine swapped more than 100 prisoners with Russia in what it said was the first all-female exchange since the war began

Women released from Russian captivity, within the framework of a large-scale exchange of prisoners, wear their national flag as they arrive in Ukraine

A woman wrapped in a Ukrainian flag cries as she is hugged upon returning home

Thirty-seven, he added, had surrendered at the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol.

Images released by Kyiv showed dozens of women disembarking from white buses. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said ‘96 [swapped prisoners] are servicewomen, including 37 evacuees from Azovstal, and 12 are civilians’.

He added: ‘The more Russian prisoners we have, the sooner we will be able to free our heroes.’

The Ukraine presidency’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said some of the Ukrainians exchanged were mothers and daughters who had been held together

Images released by Kyiv showed dozens of women disembarking from white buses

Denis Pushilin, head of the breakaway region of Donetsk, said that out of 110 people agreed in the swap, two decided to stay in Russia

Denis Pushilin, head of the breakaway region of Donetsk, said that out of 110 people agreed in the swap, two decided to stay in Russia. 

Moscow said that 72 people returned from Ukraine were the crew of civilian ships held since February.

It added that all of those returned would be flown to Moscow and provided with medical and psychological assistance.

Mariupol, a port city on the Sea of Azov in south-eastern Ukraine, withstood weeks of relentless Russian bombardment, with resistance concentrated in a dense network of underground tunnels at its Azovstal steel plant.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said ‘96 [swapped prisoners] are servicewomen, including 37 evacuees from Azovstal, and 12 are civilians’

Women rejoice as they are reunited with family and friends after the momentous prisoner swap

Women released from Russian captivity are hugged as they arrive on the Ukrainian side in Zaporizhzhia, south-eastern Ukraine