Ukraine and Russia exchanged over 100 prisoners of war on Saturday as Kyiv marked its third Independence Day since Moscow’s full-scale invasion. Ukraine said the 115 servicemen who were freed were conscripts, many of whom were taken prisoner in the first months of Russia’s invasion. Among them are nearly 50 soldiers captured by Russian forces from the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the 115 Russian soldiers had been captured in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces launched their surprise offensive into Russia two weeks ago. The ministry said the soldiers were currently in Belarus, but would be taken to Russia for medical treatment and rehabilitation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X that the United Arab Emirates had again brokered the exchange, the 55th since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.
Photos attached to Zelenskyy’s post show gaunt servicemen with shaven heads and wrapped in Ukrainian flags. “We remember each and every one. We are searching and doing our best to get everyone back,” Zelenskyy said in the post.
Officials from the two sides meet only when they swap their dead and POWs, after lengthy preparation and diplomacy. Neither Ukraine nor Russia discloses how many POWs there are in total. According to the U.N., most Ukrainian POWs suffer routine medical neglect, severe and systematic mistreatment, and even torture while in detention. There have also been isolated reports of abuse of Russian soldiers, mostly during capture or transit to internment sites.
Last January, Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war in the biggest single release.
Five people were killed and five others wounded in Russian shelling of the center of the city of Kostiantynivka in Ukraine’s partially occupied eastern Donetsk region, local officials said.
In the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, Russian shelling killed two people and wounded four, including a baby, officials said. Ukraine’s air force said it had intercepted and destroyed seven drones over the country’s south. Russian long-range bombers also attacked the area of Zmiinyi (Snake) Island with four cruise missiles, while the wider Kherson region was also struck by aerial bombs.
In Russia, the Defense Ministry said Saturday that air defenses had shot down seven drones overnight.
Ukraine marked its 33rd Independence Day Saturday as its war against Russia’s aggression reaches a 30-month milestone. No festivities are planned and instead Ukrainians will mark the day with commemorations for civilians and soldiers killed in the war. Poland’s President Andrzej Duda arrived by train early Saturday in Kyiv for a symbolic show of support from one of Ukraine’s key allies.
Conclusion:
The exchange of prisoners of war between Ukraine and Russia is a significant development in the ongoing conflict between the two countries. The exchange was facilitated by the United Arab Emirates and marked the 55th such exchange since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The two countries have been engaged in a bitter and ongoing conflict that has resulted in significant human toll and destruction.
FAQs:
What was the outcome of the prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia?
The prisoner exchange resulted in the release of over 100 prisoners, with 115 servicemen being freed.
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