KYIV (Reuters) – Russia and Ukraine carried out a significant exchange of detainees on Saturday, 206 in all, in their 2nd such swap in 2 days, adhering to arrangements moderated by the United Arab Emirates, authorities stated.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated that all 103 Ukrainians returned were from the army – 82 soldiers and privates and 21 police officers.
Russian Defence Ministry stated that the 103 Russian soldiers traded had actually been apprehended in the boundary Kursk area where Ukrainian pressures introduced a shock attack in August.
“Our people are home,” Zelenskiy stated on the Telegram messaging application. “We have successfully brought back another 103 warriors from Russian captivity to Ukraine.”
Zelenskiy uploaded images of servicemen covered in the nationwide blue and yellow flag, embracing each various other, chatting on cellphones and posturing for team photos at an unrevealed place.
The exchange was moderated by the UAE, Emirati state information firm WAM stated. It was the nation’s 8th such arbitration given that the beginning of 2024, it stated.
Kyiv and Moscow have actually often traded detainees given that Russia’s intrusion in February 2022, and Saturday’s swap was the 3rd given that Ukraine started a cross-border attack right into Russia’s Kursk area in very early August.
Ukrainian authorities have actually formerly stated its soldiers had actually caught at the very least 600 Russian soldiers throughout the attack, which this would certainly assist it safeguard the return of caught Ukrainians.
Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s ombudsman, stated most of the released Ukrainians had actually remained in Russian bondage given that the very early days of the intrusion.
He uploaded a brief video clip on the Telegram messaging application revealing the servicemen standing before a bus and shouting “Glory to Ukraine.”
Lubinets stated that Kyiv had actually until now protected the return of 3,672 Ukrainians in 57 exchanges.
(Reporting by Olena Harmash in Kyiv and Adam Makary in Cairo, Editing by Louise Heavens)
