Ukraine, Russia exchange more prisoners of war
- 17 July, 10:01
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 95 prisoners of war each as part of the latest prisoner swap deal, officials said on Wednesday.
"We continue to bring our people home. Another 95 defenders have been released from Russian captivity. These are soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, and border guards," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote in Telegram app while announcing the prisoner exchange. He expressed gratitude to "our team that deals with exchanges and the United Arab Emirates for mediating this release". The Ukrainian leader posted photos of mostly gaunt servicemen with shaven heads and wrapped in Ukrainian flags standing in what appeared to be an open area of countryside.
"No matter how difficult it is, we are looking for everyone who may be in captivity. We must return everyone,” Zelenskiy pledged.
Russia also commented on the release of its prisoners of war, with the Ministry of Defence stating that the released soldiers would be flown to Moscow for medical treatment and rehabilitation. Among the released Ukrainian POWs are defenders of Azov steel plant in Mariupol who were captured two years ago.
The prisoner exchange was the 54th since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The latest POW swap took place three weeks ago. According to Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for POWs, more than 3,400 people, both civilians and military, have returned from Russian captivity since the outbreak of the war.
