190 prisoners of war released in exchange – DW – 17.07.2024

Russia and Ukraine have released a total of 190 captured soldiers in the recent prisoner exchange between the two sides, officials in Moscow and Kiev said.

Both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Russian Defense Ministry said 95 of their soldiers had been released after the United Arab Emirates acted as mediator.

Zelensky said the released Ukrainian prisoners were members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, National Guard and Border Guard. In his post on X, formerly Twitter, Zelensky thanked the United Arab Emirates for its help in facilitating the exchange.

Among the released Ukrainians were some who had spent more than two years in captivity.

Around Since the outbreak of the war, 3,400 people have returned from Russian captivity, said the country’s prisoner of war coordination headquarters. Ukrainian prisoners of war suffer routine medical neglect, ill-treatment and even torture, the UN said.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on the messaging app Telegram that the returning Russian soldiers would be flown to Moscow for medical examinations and physical and psychological rehabilitation.

The prisoner exchange was the third of its kind in the last seven weeks. The previous exchange, which took place in June and was also brokered by the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Ukraine, saw the return of 90 prisoners each.

dh/rm (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)