Ukraine,Russia announced first prisoner exchange in several months
Ukraine, Russia announced first prisoner exchange in several months
The first prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine in nearly four months took place on Friday when 150 prisoners were freed after negotiations facilitated by the United Arab Emirates.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, 75 detainees from Ukraine have been returned home from Russia. Four of them were civilians, and the other two were members of the armed forces.
The Russian Defense Ministry declared, as reported by the RIA news agency, that Ukraine has surrendered 75 people as part of a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates.
“After an extended break, there was another prisoner exchange: seventy-five defenders and civilians were freed from enemy captivity,” the Coordinating Committee on Handling Prisoners of War in Ukraine announced.
Pictures and a committee statement were released, featuring servicemen donning blue and yellow national flags.
According to reports, Ukrainian officials brought back the nineteen defenders of Snake Island, a small rocky outcrop in the Black Sea that became a symbol of Ukrainian tenacity in the early days of the conflict when Ukrainian soldiers refused to surrender to Russian forces.
The committee also stated that as part of the agreement, Russia has turned over the bodies of 212 Ukrainian defenders.
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