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Ukraine repatriates 160 soldiers, reports on Russian attacks and losses

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Posted Jun 26, 2026, 10:00 PM UTC · In the digest of 2026-06-26-2200
Ukraine repatriates 160 soldiers, reports on Russian attacks and losses

Ukraine announced the return of 160 military personnel, including Mariupol defenders, in a prisoner exchange. Meanwhile, Russian forces conducted a large-scale air attack, and Ukraine updated Russian casualty figures.

Ukraine successfully repatriated 160 military personnel in the 76th prisoner exchange, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed. All individuals had been held since 2022, with 115 identified as defenders of Mariupol, aged between 26 and 66. The Russian Ministry of Defense also acknowledged the exchange. Separately, Russian forces launched seven Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 189 uncrewed aerial vehicles towards the Kyiv and Poltava regions overnight on June 25-26. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 177 targets, including three ballistic missiles and 174 drones, but four missiles and eleven drones struck various sites. Ukraine's General Staff updated its assessment of Russian military personnel losses to 1,398,370 since the full-scale invasion, with 1,310 reported in the preceding 24 hours.

Sources: Громадське, Радіо Свобода, Українська правда

How outlets assessed this

  • Jun 26, 2026, 05:00 PM UTC
    • Українська правда Neutral Its headline incorrectly stated repatriated soldiers were held for four years, despite its body confirming since 2022.
  • Jun 26, 2026, 09:00 PM UTC
    • Українська правда Neutral Its headline stated repatriated personnel were held for four years, while the article body confirmed since 2022.
    • Радіо Свобода Neutral Reported the exchange, consistently stating all personnel were held since 2022.

Sources

Earlier coverage