Russian and Ukrainian authorities exchanged 206 prisoners of war on Sept. 14, marking their second such swap in two days, in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates.
Ukrainian forces released 103 Russians they had taken captive, while Russian forces turned over 103 Ukrainians they been holding.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a Saturday press statement, identified the repatriated Ukrainian soldiers as 82 privates and sergeants, and 21 officers. Zelenskyy said these Ukrainian troops had participated in battles across Ukraine in more than two and a half years of fighting with Russian forces.
“I thank our exchange team for delivering such good news for Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.
Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, wrote that the “vast majority” of the freed Ukrainians had been in Russian captivity since the early days of the invasion.
“The returnees need serious rehabilitation, because during their stay in captivity their state of health has deteriorated significantly,” Lubinets said.
The Russian Ministry of Defense, in a statement on Telegram, identified the 103 Russian servicemen it received in the exchange as those that Ukrainian forces had taken prisoner when they launched a cross-border incursion into Russia’s western Kursk border region last month.
The Russian defense ministry said the soldiers it regained in the exchange are currently in allied Belarus, receiving medical and psychological assistance before their return to Russia.
The Saturday prisoner swap was made a day after another prisoner exchange, in which Ukrainian military officials announced Russia had turned over 49 Ukrainian nationals. Ukrainian officials did not say how many Russians were released in that Friday swap, and Russia did not comment on the exchange.
Ukraine said it may pursue additional rounds of prisoner exchanges following the Kursk offensive.
Ukrainian officials have previously said its forces had captured at least 600 Russian soldiers during the Kursk incursion, and that this would help it secure the return of captured Ukrainians. The number of prisoners taken in the Kursk offensive could not be independently verified and is subject to change amid the ongoing fighting in that region.
Lubinets said the Saturday prisoner swap marks the 57th time Russian and Ukrainian forces have exchanged prisoners of war. The Ukrainian official said the Kyiv government had secured the release of 3,672 Ukrainians since the start of the current conflict, in February 2022.
While Ukraine’s cross-border assault into Russia’s Kursk region has captured media attention, Russian forces have continued to advance inside parts of eastern Ukraine. Russian troops are now closing in on the strategically valuable town of Pokrovsk, a key Ukrainian logistics hub in its eastern Donbas region.
Should Russia forces take Pokrovsk, they could hinder the resupply of Ukrainian troops elsewhere in the Donbas region.
Zelenskyy has increasingly urged his backers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere, to loosen restrictions on the long-range weapons they’ve sent to Ukraine, and allow his forces to strike deep inside Russia. Zelenskyy’s supporters have been reluctant to grant such requests, which could escalate the conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, on Friday, said if NATO does allow Ukraine to use donated weapons systems for expansive long-range strikes inside Russia, he would view it as direct NATO involvement in the conflict.
President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met at the White House on Friday to discuss their continued support for Ukraine, but did not announce a decision to lift restrictions on how Ukrainian forces use long-range strike weapons.
Reuters contributed to this article.
From The Epoch Times