Russia and Ukraine completed a prisoner exchange that resulted in the return of 130 Ukrainian prisoners, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, wrote on Telegram on April 16.
He did not say how many Russians were released in what he called a "great Easter exchange."
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Earlier in the week, 106 Russian prisoners were swapped for 100 Ukrainians, the two governments reported.
Despite the Easter holiday, fighting continued to rage in eastern Ukraine, with Ukraine's military reporting dozens of attacks over the past 24 hours.
Zelenskiy congratulated Orthodox Christian Ukrainians on the occasion of Easter, noting that after 417 days of war with Russia, the country retains an "unshakeable faith" in victory.
"We are not only waiting and asking, but we are winning and creating this victory ourselves," Zelenskiy said in a video address on April 16. "With all our strength, we fight for our land and ask for the help of heavenly forces."
In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin attended an Easter service at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior with Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, both of whom have been outspoken supporters of Russia’s February 2022 massive invasion of Ukraine.
Putin praised the Russian Orthodox Church for its "active commitment to mercy and charity in the face of serious challenges" in a statement posted by the Kremlin.
He added that Easter "gives hope to believers, inspires good thoughts and deeds, and serves to reaffirm high moral ideals and values in society."
Amid The Ruins Of War, Ukrainians Celebrate Orthodox Easter
Putin, 70, is the subject of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, including the mass deportation of Ukrainian children.
During the service Patriarch Kirill described the Russian invasion and the war, which has killed tens of thousands and left millions of people displaced, as "sad events that may be described as an internal feud that are now taking place on our historic Russian land."