Russia, Ukraine swap prisoners after military plane crash
- 31 January, 18:42
Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday exchanged hundreds of prisoners in the first such swap since the deadly Russian military plane crash that was reportedly carrying 65 Ukrainian hostages.
Ukraine returned 207 servicemen and civilians as part of the exchange on Wednesday.
“Ours are at home. 207 guys,” Zelensky said, adding that “we will do everything to return each and every one of them. We have not forgotten about anyone. We are looking for every single name,” he said, adding that nearly half of those returned were “defenders of Mariupol”, a besieged city that was captured by Russia in the early weeks of the war.
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that 195 Russian military personnel were exchanged for 195 Ukrainian servicemen. The ministry did not say where or how the exchange took place.
The prisoner exchange on Wednesday was the first official swap since the Russian Il-76 military plane crashed in Belgorod region on the Ukrainian border. The 65 Ukrainian hostages aboard would be exchanged on that day, according to reports from both sides. However, Ukrainian officials have stated that they were not notified that the prisoners would be flown to the region, rather than transported by road or rail. The two sides have been trading accusations over the plane crash. Ukraine has accused Russia of falsely claiming that Ukraine had inadvertently killed its hostages. Ukraine, however, accuses Russia over failing to provide sufficient evidence to back up the claims of the hostages’ deaths. It should be noted that Ukraine has recently stepped up its missile and drone attacks in Russian territory, including in Belgorod region.
