KYIV—On Wednesday, Russia and Ukraine said that they had exchanged prisoners of war for the first time in almost five months, with each side releasing more than 200 inmates following what they both claimed was a protracted negotiating process that involved United Arab Emirates mediation.
According to Russia's Defense Ministry, Ukraine has turned over 248 military servicemen. In what it claimed to be the largest troop swap ever recorded, Kiev reported that 230 people—224 military and 6 civilians—had been sent home.
In a statement, the UAE's foreign ministry admitted its involvement and said that its "strong friendly relations" with both Moscow and Kyiv made the transfer feasible.
It proposed continuing humanitarian operations as well as looking for a diplomatic way to end the conflict.
Returning inmates dressed in the national flag were shown coming off a bus, singing the national anthem, and yelling the rallying cry "Glory to Ukraine" in a video made public by Ukrainian officials.
A similar video of returning uniformed convicts arriving in Belgorod on busses was posted by the Russian Ministry of Defense. One man who asked not to be identified said, "It's going to be a joy to be home in about five hours."
Since the beginning of Russia's invasion in February 2022, Kyiv and Moscow have exchanged prisoners several times, despite the lack of discussions on how to conclude the 22-month conflict.
However, the rate of exchanges fell in 2023, with the last one occurring in August before this week's.
"After a significant amount of time, we managed to carry out a very difficult prisoner swap," stated Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's HUR Military Intelligence organization, highlighting the UAE's "direct role."
Declaring it to be "truly a great day for Ukraine," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised to continue with such exchanges made possible by growing what he referred to as a "exchange fund" of seized Russian soldiers.
“The more Russians we capture, the more effective the negotiations regarding swaps will be,” he said in his nightly video address.
Some of the returns, he claimed, had been reported missing earlier.
The returnees from Ukraine's armed forces included those who had fought for over three months to defend the Azovstal steel complex in the Mariupol port until Russian forces took it in May 2022.
According to a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry, the freed inmates will get medical examinations and treatment.
Tatyana Moskalkova, Russia's Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed gratitude to President Vladimir Putin, the armed forces, and intelligence agencies for their participation in the meeting.
