Ukraine and Russia each exchanged a staggering 103 prisoners of war on Saturday, their second swap in two days, following mediation by the United Arab Emirates, officials said.
The 103 Ukrainians released in the latest exchange included 82 soldiers and 21 officers, many of whom had been held captive since the early months of the war in 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“Our people are home,” he said.
“We have successfully brought back another 103 warriors from Russian captivity to Ukraine.”
In his nightly address, Zelensky thanked the officials who handled the prisoner exchange, as well as his troops for their bravery and work in helping fill the “exchange fund.”
In particular, he commended the soldiers involved in the daring incursion into Russian territory of Kursk beginning last month for helping secure the Ukrainian prisoners’ release.
“Our operation in the Kursk region gave the necessary impetus,” he said.
The Russian Defense Ministry wrote on Telegram that the 103 Russian soldiers it received in the swap had been taken prisoner during the surprise cross-border incursion into Kursk, which Ukraine launched in early August, and were currently in Belarus.
Photographs and video of the released Ukrainians showed smiling, pale men with shaved or buzzed heads.
Many had the national blue and yellow flag draped over their shoulders as they embraced one another and made phone calls to speak with family members.
A day earlier, each side released 49 prisoners, including 23 Ukranian women.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Kyiv and Moscow have conducted multiple prisoner exchanges.
The UAE’s ministry of foreign affairs touted that Saturday’s prisoner exchange was the eighth prisoner exchange it had mediated this year between Russia and Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials have previously said that their troops had captured at least 600 Russian soldiers during the Kursk invasion, and that this would help secure many captured Ukrainians’ return.
With Post wires
