Latest Prisoners of war News
2 years after Ukrainian POW deaths, survivors and leaked UN analysis point to Russia as the culprit
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The former prisoners of war still puzzle over the strange events leading up to the night now seared into their memories, when an explosion ripped through the Russian-controlled Olenivka prison barracks and killed so many comrades two years ago. Among the...
Takeaways from an investigation into deaths of over 50 Ukrainian POWs in a barracks 2 years ago
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — An explosion ripped through the Russian-controlled Olenivka prison barracks two years ago, killing more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war and leaving dozens injured. The Associated Press interviewed over a dozen survivors, investigators and families of the...
Remains of World War II POW who died in the Philippines returned home to California
ONTARIO, Calif. (AP) — The long-unidentified remains of a World War II service member who died in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in the Philippines in 1942 were returned home to California on Tuesday. The remains of U.S. Army Air Forces Pvt. 1st Class Charles R. Powers, 18, of...
Russia and Ukraine swap 95 prisoners of war each in their latest exchange
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine and Russia exchanged 95 prisoners of war each, officials in both countries said Wednesday, three weeks after their last swap and as part of what have been occasional agreements to send captured troops home. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and...
Ukraine is releasing thousands of prisoners so they can join the fight against Russia
DNIPROPETROVSK REGION, Ukraine (AP) — At a rural penal colony in southeast Ukraine, several convicts stand assembled under barbed wire to hear an army recruiter offer them a shot at parole. In return, they must join the grueling fight against Russia. “You can put an end to this...
10 Ukrainians held prisoner for years in Russia return home after Vatican mediation
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ten Ukrainian civilians held prisoner for years by Russia arrived in Kyiv overnight Saturday after the mediation of the Vatican, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. They were freed Friday. Some had been captured years before Russia’s full-scale...
What does Israel's rescue of 4 captives, and the killing of 274 Palestinians, mean for truce talks?
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel's dramatic weekend rescue of four hostages from the Gaza Strip, in an operation that local health officials say killed 274 Palestinians, came at a sensitive time in the 8-month-old war, as Israel and Hamas weigh a U.S. proposal for a cease-fire and the release of...
Russia and Ukraine exchange POWs for the first time in months. Bodies of fallen are also swapped
SUMY REGION, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners of war on Friday, each sending back 75 POWs in the first such swap in the past three months, officials said. A few hours earlier and at the same location, the two sides also handed over bodies of their fallen soldiers. ...
Russian POWs get to make phone calls home. Ukrainians don't. A growing movement wants that to change
FAR WESTERN UKRAINE (AP) — Precious few choices are available to Alexander, a 26-year-old Russian soldier, since his capture: Clothes, meals and the hours of his day are rigidly accounted for in the camp for prisoners of war. But Ukraine allows Alexander to call home to his family...
Yemen’s Houthi rebels freed over 100 war prisoners, the Red Cross says
CAIRO (AP) — The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Sunday released more than 100 war prisoners linked to the country’s long-running conflict, the International Committee of the Red Cross said. The unilateral release came more than a year after Yemen’s warring sides freed...
