Ukraine and Russia on Wednesday said that they had exchanged more than 200 captive soldiers each, in what officials have described as the biggest prisoner swap of the war so far.
The two warring sides have carried out dozens of exchanges since Moscow invaded in February 2022, but the process stalled in the latter half of last year.
In near simultaneous statements, Russia and Ukraine announced they had received more than 200 soldiers each following talks mediated by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Photo: Ukranian Presidential Press Service via AFP
“More than 200 of our soldiers and civilians have been returned from Russian captivity,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram, posting a video of uniformed men celebrating.
Neither side had announced an exchange in almost five months, prompting Kyiv to accuse Moscow of deliberately blocking deals for political reasons.
“There was a long pause in the exchanges, but there was no pause in the negotiations,” Zelenskiy said in a later message, hailing the swap as “good news.”
The Russian Ministry of Defense said 248 of its military personnel had been returned, and that they were being provided with “medical and psychological assistance.”
The UAE said the deal reflected its “strong friendly relations” with both Russia and Ukraine.
Neither side discloses how many prisoners are in their custody.
The announcement came as Russia continued to strike frontline areas of Ukraine, killing three people and wounding at least one, local officials said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed earlier this week to intensify strikes on the country following an unprecedented attack on the Russian city of Belgorod over the weekend.
“Today, at around 11am, Russians struck the city of Avdiivka with four missiles,” Donetsk regional head Vadym Filashkin said in a Telegram message.
“A 51-year-old man died on the spot,” he said, adding that a 50-year-old woman was wounded and taken to hospital.
Avdiivka is close to the Russian-controlled stronghold of Donetsk and has been the focus of intense fighting for months.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
A colossal explosion in the sky, unleashing energy hundreds of times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. A blinding flash nearly as bright as the sun. Shockwaves powerful enough to flatten everything for miles. It might sound apocalyptic, but a newly detected asteroid nearly the size of a football field now has a greater than 1 percent chance of colliding with Earth in about eight years. Such an impact has the potential for city-level devastation, depending on where it strikes. Scientists are not panicking yet, but they are watching closely. “At this point, it’s: ‘Let’s pay a lot of attention, let’s
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
RSS