Pope Francis Has Helped Broker a Massive Prisoner Swap Between Ukraine and Russia

When Ukrainian diplomats and a military chief arrived at the Vatican, they had one mission in mind: to ask help from Pope Francis to do the seemingly impossible: convince Russia to release 300 Ukrainian prisoners of war. In exchange, Ukraine was willing to release 50 Russian prisoners of war. 

In a September 15 interview published by Civilta Cattolica, a Jesuit magazine based in Italy, it was revealed that the Pontiff successfully brokered the deal. 

“They asked me to do something so that an exchange could be made… I immediately called the Russian ambassador to see if something could be done and if an exchange of prisoners could be expedited," the Holy Father was quoted telling Civilta Cattolica. 

It worked. 

According to a Reuters report, the magnitude of the prisoner swap came as a surprise “given Russian President Vladimir Putin had announced a partial troop mobilization earlier in the day in an apparent escalation of the conflict.”

On September 22, Ukraine and Russia carried out the prisoner swap, involving nealry 300 captured persons from both sides, including 10 foreigners. Russia released 215 Ukrainians, while Ukraine released 55 Russians. 

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Turkey and Saudi Arabia played key roled in the prisoner swap.