Youngest Russian soldier freed in prisoner swap with Ukraine

On Wednesday, first, the Russian Ministry of Defense and then Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Kyiv and Moscow had conducted the 53rd prisoner exchange since the beginning of the full-scale war. Each side released 95 people, and this event's success is attributed to the United Arab Emirates, which acted as a mediator between the parties.

According to "The Moscow Times," as a result of the prisoner exchange, 19-year-old Savely Vasilyev returned from Ukrainian captivity to the Russian Federation, having been sent to war a year earlier with no prior experience.

Savely turned out to be the youngest on the list of exchanged individuals. His date of birth is June 16, 2005. In May, he was interviewed the Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Karpenko. From the publication date of the conversation, it appears that Vasilyev was captured before turning 19.

In the interview, Vasilyev said he went to war at 18 without previous military experience. This information was confirmed by the young man's mother, whom Karpenko called. The young man—as he himself said—was forced to sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense under the threat of prosecution. Shortly before being sent to the front, Savely bought a car, which turned out to be stolen.

Savely claimed that he evacuated the wounded during the war and delivered dry rations to the front line. During one of these trips, the armored personnel carrier he was traveling in was blown up by a mine. This was when Savely was captured. He did not specify exactly when this happened but mentioned that it was "snowing" then.

Among the prisoners who returned to Russia with Savely, at least 20 have a criminal past or were suspects in criminal cases, according to "Agenstvo.Nowosti".

The list included, among others, Alexei Lantsov from Kostroma, registered as a member of an organized criminal group; Alexander Nikitin from Komsomolsk-on-Amur wanted for murder; and Yevgeny Zuyev from Belgorod, convicted of producing or distributing pornographic materials involving minors.

On July 17, Kyiv and Moscow, through the mediation of the United Arab Emirates, conducted another prisoner exchange in the "95 for 95" format.

This prisoner exchange was the sixth conducted with the support of the United Arab Emirates since the beginning of 2024 and the 54th since the start of the full-scale war.