Russia and Ukraine swap hundreds of prisoners of war

Russia and Ukraine have exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Ministry of Defense of Russia has said that it has exchanged 150 Ukrainian soldiers who were captives with a large number of Russian soldiers.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensy said 189 Ukrainians have returned home.

He said that those who were released include “protectors of Azovstal and Mariupol”, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and Snake Island.

Outside a hospital in northern Ukraine, worried family members huddled in the freezing cold, waiting for their loved ones.

A woman, Alina, was expecting her husband, Oleksandr. He was captured defending the city of Mariupol in 2022.

“I have so many thoughts,” she said, tears streaming down her face, “It’s been so hard. I just want to see her.”

The Russian Defense Ministry said the newly released Russian soldiers were in Belarus, Russia’s ally, and were being given medical treatment and the opportunity to reunite with their families.

In a video posted by Tatyana Moskalkova, head of the Russian Human Rights Commission, soldiers were seen gathered in front of coaches dressed in military and winter clothing.

“Soon our boys will hug their families and friends and celebrate the New Year in their country,” he said in a follow-up message.

This was the 59th prisoner exchange since the start of the mass uprising and one of the largest to date.

On the Ukrainian side, those released were soldiers, border guards, National Guardsmen and Navy servicemen. Many had been in prison for more than two and a half years, and Ukrainian authorities said some had returned with serious illnesses and injuries.

For some families, this painful uncertainty is over. But thousands of Ukrainians are still slaves in Russia and other parts of Ukraine.

Officials in Kyiv told the BBC that talks on the prisoner exchange have become more difficult in recent months – since the Russian military began to make major advances in the war.

Ukraine does not publish the number of prisoners of war held by Russia, but the total number is thought to be more than 8,000.

Denys Prokopenko, commander of Ukraine’s 12th Special Forces Azov Brigade that defended Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant before it was seized by Russian forces, said. X that 11 of the brigade’s men were returned in exchange.

Prokopenko was released from prison in 2022.

Zelensky said two people who were arrested in Mariupol were among those released.

“We are working to free everyone from Russian captivity. This is our goal. We will not forget anyone,” said Zelensky. They posted photos showing some of the men who took turns sitting on a coach holding yellow and blue Ukrainian flags.

In May 2022, Russia declared victory after a war that took months to win. in southeastern Ukraine port city of Mariupoland the last fighters to defend the Azovstal steel plant after its defeat.

The Russian military occupied Chernobyl in the northwest of the country at the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but later returned control of the site to its employees.

Snake Island in the Black Sea was also captured in 2022 and Ukrainian soldiers were taken captive, but later exchanged for Russian captives.