Ukraine and Russia: new exchange of 103 prisoners of war

Ukraine and Russia carried out a new exchange of prisoners of war on Wednesday involving 103 people in each camp, the Russian Defense Ministry announced, in one of the only areas of cooperation between the two warring countries.

“One hundred and three Russian soldiers were repatriated. In exchange, 103 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian armed forces were handed over,” he said in a statement. Russian soldiers are currently in Belarus for “medical and psychological” treatment, according to Moscow. They will then be transferred to Russia.

Since this winter, several new prisoner exchanges have taken place.

The Russian ministry stressed that the United Arab Emirates, as in previous exchanges, had played “a mediating role” in this repatriation. Ukraine has not yet made a comment. Prisoner exchanges are one of the last areas of cooperation between Russia and Ukraine, and the only tangible result of negotiations between the two countries.

According to kyiv, more than 15,000 Ukrainian civilians are detained in Russian prisons. In February, Zelensky said that around 7,000 Ukrainian soldiers were also in captivity. Since this winter, several new prisoner exchanges have taken place, each time involving several hundred people from both camps.