Having taken thousands of prisoners of war (POWs) from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Russia is now mulling exchanging POWs from Ukraine’s Azov Regiment for captured pro-Russian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk.

After holding out against incessant Russian shelling for nearly three months, Mariupol finally fell days ago. As Russian forces moved in to take over the war-torn city, they captured around 2,500 people from the Azovstal steel plant, which had become the city’s last bastion against the invaders.

Also read | What happened in Erdogan’s talk with Sweden, Finland over NATO entry

With concerns rising about the fate of the POWs, a member of the Russian delegation involved in Russia-Ukraine talks said on Saturday that Moscow was mulling exchanging some POWs for the release of Medvedchuk.

“We will study the matter [of prisoner exchange],” delegation member Leonid Slutsky was quoted as saying by  Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti on Saturday.

Also read | Russia halts gas supplies to Finland after historic NATO bid

Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian oligarch with pro-Russian views believed to be close to the Kremlin, was captured in April in a “special operation” that received considerable praise from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The oligarch had been placed under house arrest prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Medvedchuk had been accused to trying to sell Ukrainian state secrets to Moscow, and was facing charges of treason.

Also read | ‘Stop raping us’: Topless Ukrainian protestor removed from Cannes

However, his whereabouts became unknown in the chaos that ensued after Russia launched its invasion of the eastern European country, and the oligarch was missing for several weeks till his capture in April.

Among the richest men in Ukraine, and believed to be the godfather of Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s daughter, Medvedchuk’s capture was a massive strategic victory for Ukraine, one that could now help them secure the release of captured soldiers.