Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday (Jan 3) exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war – for the first time in nearly five months.
Moscow said that it was a complex negotiation, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was involved in it. Without providing details, Ukraine’s POW coordination centre also briefly acknowledged the UAE’s role in the exchange.
Russia said that Ukraine had handed over 248 military personnel, meanwhile, Kyiv revived 230 people – 224 soldiers and six civilians.
The exchange of prisoners had been the largest documented swap of troops so far. This is not the first, Russia and Ukraine have held many prisoner swaps since the early months of Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
However, the rate of the exchanges dropped in 2023 and the last one took place in early August.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also announced that they had received soldiers. “More than 200 of our soldiers and civilians have been returned from Russian captivity,” Zelensky said on Telegram, posting a video of uniformed men celebrating.
Neither side reports the number of prisoners in their possession. Among the Ukrainian soldiers released were 66 from Mariupol, which surrendered to Russian forces in May 2022, according to an official involved in the discussions.
Dozens of Ukrainian troops who fought in Mariupol have been convicted of war crimes by Russia in court procedures that Ukraine and rights groups have condemned as unlawful.
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(With inputs from agencies)
