Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 190 captured soldiers as part of a deal mediated by the United Arab Emirates, the Russian Defense Ministry announced Wednesday.
“As a result of a negotiation process, 95 Russian servicemen … have been returned,” the ministry wrote on Telegram, adding that 95 Ukrainian soldiers had also been released.
Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets posted an emotional video of a Ukrainian soldier wrapping himself in a Ukrainian flag and kneeling on the ground upon his return.
The exchange announced on Wednesday marks the sixth swap mediated by the UAE so far this year, with the total number of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers returned home nearing 1,400, according to Bloomberg, which reported about the swap in advance on Tuesday.
Russian and Ukrainian officials exchanged 90 prisoners of war each in a previous UAE-mediated deal on June 25.
Moscow and Kyiv have carried out more than 50 prisoner exchanges since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022.
President Vladimir Putin said last month that Moscow was holding 6,465 Ukrainian prisoners of war while Kyiv was holding 1,348 Russian soldiers captive.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Kyiv would “continue to work for the release of each and every one” of its soldiers captured by Russian forces.
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