for Nintendo’s highly-anticipated

As the freed men entered the medical facility, people holding signs and photos of their relatives shouted names or brigade numbers, seeking any news of a loved one. The returning men inspected the photos, and a serviceman said he shared a cell with one of those on the sea of portraits held out toward him.“Vanya!” cried Nataliia Mosych, among the gathered relatives, “My husband!”

She hadn’t seen her husband, Ivan, for almost two years, she said, beaming.“It is an unbelievable feeling. I am still in shock,” Mosych said after he came outside to greet his family following registration procedures inside the facility. “I am really glad, and we were not forgotten, and we still mean something for Ukraine.”Many who were freed expressed shock and disbelief that they had been exchanged. Some had trouble remembering names and details of their lives before their capture.

One released POW joked in a video call with his girlfriend that he got a bit older in his three-year absence, and she replied he was as beautiful as ever.Many relatives wept when it became clear their loved ones were not among those returning, and they hoped those who were released could at least offer some information about their husbands, brothers and sons.

“Maybe my dad will come tomorrow,” one small boy cried.

News of the prisoner release emerged when U.S. President Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine had carried out a large exchange.Miners work at the D4 Gakombe coltan quarry in Rubaya, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Miners work at the D4 Gakombe coltan quarry in Rubaya, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)People walk through the town near the coltan mining quarry in Rubaya, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

People walk through the town near the coltan mining quarry in Rubaya, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)Two women stand together in the town near the coltan mining quarry in Rubaya, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)