President Volodymyr Zelenskiy credited the beginning of the prisoners to his forces’ fresh incursion into Russia. The released Ukrainians — 82 squaddies and privates and 21 officers — had been held for the reason that early months of the battle, he talked about
Reuters
15 September, 2024, 11:10 am
Final modified: 15 September, 2024, 11:14 am
Russia and Ukraine performed a prime commerce of 206 prisoners on Saturday, 103 apiece, in their 2d such swap in two days, following negotiations mediated by the United Arab Emirates, officials talked about.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy credited the beginning of the prisoners to his forces’ fresh incursion into Russia. The released Ukrainians — 82 squaddies and privates and 21 officers — had been held for the reason that early months of the battle, he talked about.
The Russian Defence Ministry talked about that the 103 Russian squaddies exchanged had been taken prisoner within the border Kursk space the set Ukrainian forces launched the shock incursion in August.
“Our folks are home,” Zelenskiy talked about on the Telegram messaging app. “Now we bear efficiently introduced support one other 103 warriors from Russian captivity to Ukraine.”
In his nightly video address, he thanked his fight forces for their braveness and the workforce handling the exchanges. “In particular, our operation within the Kursk space gave a mandatory boost,” he added.
Zelenskiy posted images of servicemen wrapped within the nationwide blue and yellow flag, hugging each varied, speaking on cellphones and posing for workers images at an undisclosed set.
In his video address, he talked about these released included squaddies who fought to protect town of Mariupol. The Azov brigade, which took section within the three-month defence of the port in 2022, talked about in a submit on its Telegram channel that 23 of its males had been among the many captives released on Saturday.
The commerce became once mediated by the UAE, Emirati state data company WAM talked about. It became once the country’s eighth such mediation for the reason that beginning of 2024, it talked about.
Kyiv and Moscow bear continually exchanged prisoners since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, and Saturday’s swap became once the third since Ukraine began a pass-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk space in early August.
Ukrainian officials bear beforehand talked about Kyiv’s forces had captured as a minimum 600 Russian squaddies right via the incursion, and that this would possibly support it earn the return of captured Ukrainians.
Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman talked about that Kyiv had to this level secured the return of three,672 Ukrainians in 57 exchanges.
