The crash of a airplane carrying prisoners of struggle had forged doubt on the way forward for prisoner exchanges.
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged lots of of prisoners of struggle, within the first prisoner swap for the reason that crash final week of a Russian navy transport airplane that Moscow says was carrying 65 Ukrainian troopers.
The Russian Ministry of Defence stated that every aspect acquired 195 troopers again and that its troopers can be flown to Moscow to obtain medical and psychological therapy.
“On January 31, on account of the negotiation course of, 195 Russian servicemen who have been in mortal hazard in captivity have been returned from territory managed by the Kyiv regime. In return, precisely 195 prisoners from the armed forces of Ukraine have been handed over,” the Defence Ministry stated in an announcement.
It was cited by the RIA state information company as saying that the United Arab Emirates had performed a task in brokering the deal.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on his official account on X that it was one of many greatest swaps to date.
He gave a barely increased quantity for the variety of Ukrainians returned. “Our persons are again. 207 of them. We return them house it doesn’t matter what,” stated Zelenskyy.
Ukraine’s governmental physique accountable for POWs stated that this was the fiftieth prisoner change of its variety. It returned house troopers concerned within the defence of the cities of Mariupol and Kherson, in addition to troopers captured by Russia on Snake Island within the Black Sea.
The physique stated marines and fight medics have been amongst these handed again and that 36 of the returned Ukrainians had accidents or severe sicknesses.
The 2 nations have carried out periodic prisoner swaps by way of intermediaries for the reason that struggle started almost two years in the past, regardless of the absence of any peace talks between them for the reason that early months of the battle.
The most recent and largest change was on January 3, once they traded a complete of 478 captives following mediation by the UAE.
The crash on January 24 of a Russian Ilyushin Il-76 airplane in a area earlier than the same deliberate swap had thrown doubt on the way forward for prisoner exchanges between the 2 sides.
Moscow stated Ukrainian troopers being carried to a scheduled change have been killed when the airplane was shot down by Kyiv’s forces. Kyiv has not outright denied Moscow’s model of occasions however questioned whether or not captured Ukrainian troopers have been truly on board.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday stated {that a} US-made Patriot missile was used to shoot down the navy cargo airplane.
“The airplane was shot down, it has already been established for sure, by an American Patriot system,” Putin stated in a televised look.
