Russia, Ukraine swap more than 300 POWs in deal mediated by UAE

While Russian Defence Ministry says 150 prisoners were swapped successful a New Year deal, Zelenskyy welcomes 189 Ukrainians home.

Russia and Ukraine person swapped much than 300 prisoners of warfare (POWs) successful an speech brokered by the United Arab Emirates successful beforehand of New Year’s Eve, officials from some countries said.

The Russian Ministry of Defence connected Monday said it swapped 150 Ukrainian prisoners, portion Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenksyy said 189 Ukrainians had returned home.

There was nary contiguous mentation for the discrepancy successful the numbers reported.

“The instrumentality of our radical from Russian captivity is ever precise bully quality for each of us. And contiguous is 1 of specified days: our squad managed to bring 189 Ukrainians home,” Zelenskyy posted connected the Telegram messaging app.

He said the swap included 2 civilians captured successful the confederate larboard metropolis of Mariupol successful 2022 arsenic helium thanked the UAE for helping negociate the exchange.

Pictures released by Zelenskyy showed dozens of men sitting successful a bus, immoderate of them wrapped successful Ukraine’s nationalist bluish and yellowish flags.

A video published by Russia’s quality rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova showed soldiers gathered extracurricular buses, wearing wintertime apparel and subject fatigues.

“I convey you for your service, patience and courage,” Moskalkova said, wishing them a blessed New Year’s holiday.

“Very soon our guys volition clasp their relatives and friends and observe the New Year successful their autochthonal land,” she wrote successful a Telegram connection accompanying the video.

The Russian Defence Ministry said the freed POWs were provided some intelligence and aesculapian assistance successful neighbouring Belarus, a cardinal Moscow ally, earlier heading for home.

There person been 60 antithetic prisoner exchanges since the warfare began successful February 2022. The past speech took spot successful mid-October erstwhile the 2 countries swapped 95 POWs each.

Ukraine said connected Monday that Moscow had released a full of 3,956 radical – soldiers and civilians – successful deals with Kyiv since the commencement of the conflict. Zelenskyy promised to proceed pushing for the remaining POWs to beryllium freed.

“We proceed moving to escaped each azygous idiosyncratic from Russian captivity. This is our goal, and we volition not hide anyone. I convey the squad that is doing everything to bring our radical home,” helium wrote.

The captive speech came arsenic US President Joe Biden announced Monday that the United States volition nonstop astir $2.5bn much successful weapons to Ukraine arsenic his medication works rapidly to walk each the wealth it has disposable to assistance Kyiv combat disconnected Russia earlier President-elect Donald Trump takes office.