Some are injured, most are very young and all want to go home: Russian soldiers captured during the surprise attack by Ukrainian forces in Kursk are now hoping for an exchange.

Agence France-Presse was able to speak briefly with many of these prisoners of war at the site where they are being held in the Sumy region of northern Ukraine, under the supervision of Ukrainian officers.

Sitting in his bunk, a 22-year-old conscript wearing checkered trousers recalls the moment he was captured, in one of the most important Ukrainian operations since the start of the war, in 2022. “Everything was normal, everything was going well. And then, unexpectedly, everything collapsed,” he recounted, explaining that the commanders “simply abandoned” him and his comrades when the Ukrainians crossed the border.

“It was unexpected“, repeats the young man who was serving his term – he had completed 10 months – when the Ukrainian attack began. Now, he says he is waiting for “an exchange” to return home and see his family again.

Unlike reservists and conscripts, conscripts are not sent to fight in Ukraine but serve their mandatory one-year term on Russian soil. Often these are young men with no real military experience.

Another detainee, a 42-year-old border guard with a bandaged leg, recounts being captured on the first day of the Ukrainian operation.

“We were surrounded, there was no chance of breaking the cordon. That’s when we made the decision to surrender,” he said, adding that he too hopes for an exchange. “Of course, that’s what I hope for, above all else».

Volodymyr, the deputy director of the camp where the POWs are being held, says he is pleased with the “very large number” of Russians captured in Ukraine’s unprecedented offensive. He said the captives were at first “afraid of everything” and expected to be mistreated. Eventually they “came back to life” and their psychological condition “stabilized”.

“On the battlefield they are hated (by Ukrainians) soldiers, but when captured they become ordinary people“, he continued.

Kiev says several hundred Russian soldiers have surrendered, but has not disclosed the exact number. Recently President Volodymyr Zelensky said he hoped they would soon be exchanged with Ukrainian prisoners in Russia. A source in the Ukrainian SBU security service reported last week that 102 Russian soldiers were captured in one day.

For its part, the Russian military has been posting videos on social media sites purporting to show Ukrainian soldiers surrendering in the Kursk region.

Last June Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was holding about 6,500 Ukrainian prisoners of war.

The two sides have exchanged prisoners several times in the last two years. This time Kiev assures that talks are already underway with Moscow in view of an exchange. Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said he is in contact with his Russian counterpart Tatiana Maskalkova on the matter.

“There were talks, at the initiative of my Russian counterpart“, he said, stressing that “this situation at least forced the Russian side to take the initiative”.