Ukraine and Russia on Wednesday, the 3rd of January, conducted the first prisoner exchange in almost five months. The Russian defence ministry said Ukraine handed over 248 servicemen, while Ukraine brought home 230, the largest documented exchange of soldiers to date, which happened through complex negotiations mediated by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), reports Reuters.
The UAE foreign ministry acknowledged its importance in negotiations because of its “close friendly relations” with both countries and expressed its commitment to continue humanitarian efforts and seek a peaceful solution to the long-running conflict.
A video released by the Ukrainian authorities showed the returning prisoners wearing the national flag, singing the national anthem and shouting “Glory to Ukraine!”. Most, but not all, appeared to be in good health.
230 of our people. Today, 213 soldiers and sergeants, 11 officers, and 6 civilians returned home. I am grateful to everyone who achieved this result.
We remember each and every one of our people. And we must return all of them.
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— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 3, 2024
The Russian Ministry of Defence also shared a video showing prisoners arriving in Belgorod by bus. In the video, an unnamed man expressed his happiness that he would be home in about five hours.
Despite the absence of peace talks to end the 22-month war, the two countries have engaged in numerous prisoner exchanges since the first months of the Russian invasion in February 2022. However, the number of exchanges decreased in 2023, with the last exchange before this taking place in August, writes Reuters.
Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency HUR, acknowledged the UAE’s “direct role” in facilitating the complex prisoner exchanges.
President Zelensky said that the day was “truly great for Ukraine” and pledged to continue the exchange operations by expanding the “exchange fund” of captured Russian soldiers, stressing that the effectiveness of the negotiations was based on the amount of captured Russian soldiers. He said that some of the soldiers who returned had previously been presumed missing.
Among the returning Ukrainian soldiers were those who took part in the defence of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.
On the Russian side, Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova thanked President Putin and the military and intelligence services for their work in the exchange, according to Reuters.
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