Jan 3, 2024 at 5:59 PM Update: an hour ago
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged prisoners of war. In total, almost five hundred people have been released, both countries confirmed on Wednesday.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reports on Telegram that 248 soldiers have been released. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reports the release of “more than two hundred warriors and civilians from Russian captivity.”
“After a complicated negotiation process, 248 Russian soldiers have returned to their own country from territory under the control of the Kyiv regime,” the Russian Defense Ministry wrote on Telegram, referring to the Ukrainian government. The United Arab Emirates has mediated, the ministry reports.
According to Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, 230 Ukrainian soldiers have been released. Zelensky says that “soldiers, sergeants and officers” from various armed forces units have been released, including “defenders who fought in Mariupol and Azovstal.”
The battle for the city of Mariupol was one of the bloodiest battles in the war between the two countries. After a long siege of the city, Ukrainian soldiers retreated to the Azovstal steel plant, where they finally surrendered in May 2022. “I thank everyone who brings our people home despite all the difficulties. I am grateful to our defenders,” Zelensky wrote on X.
According to Lubinets, this was the 49th time the two countries have exchanged prisoners. The exchange of prisoners had been at a standstill for months.
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Image: AFP
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2024-01-03 16:59:53
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