Russia and Ukraine exchange 300 prisoners of war
Russia and Ukraine swapped more than 300 prisoners of war on Monday in an exchange brokered by the United Arab Emirates ahead of New Year’s Eve, officials from both countries said.
The two sides have exchanged hundreds of captive soldiers since Russia began its military assault on Ukraine in February 2022, in one of the few areas of cooperation.
The swap saw each side free 150 prisoners of war on Monday, a statement from the Russian defence ministry said.
Russian captives were released on Belarusian territory and will be transferred to Russia, it said.
Ukraine said that 189 Ukrainians had been returned from captivity.
The last exchange between Moscow and Kyiv took place in mid-October when the two countries swapped 95 prisoners of war each.
Last month, both Russia and Ukraine accused each other of slowing down prisoner exchanges.
Russia’s ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova said earlier this month that Moscow is negotiating a “large exchange” of prisoners with Ukraine, but it has not yet reached a deal on the issue with Kyiv.
