On September 14, Russian and Ukrainian authorities exchanged 206 prisoners of war, marking the second such swap in two days, in an agreement negotiated by the United Arab Emirates.
Ukrainian soldiers freed 103 Russians they had kidnapped, while Russian forces handed over 103 Ukrainians they had detained.
In a press release issued on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy named the returning Ukrainian troops as 82 privates, sergeants, and 21 officers. Zelenskyy stated that these Ukrainian troops have fought with Russian forces in conflicts across Ukraine over the course of more than two and a half years.
“I thank our exchange team for delivering such good news for Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.
Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, stated that the "vast majority" of the liberated Ukrainians had been in Russian custody since the beginning of the invasion.
“The returnees need serious rehabilitation, because during their stay in captivity their state of health has deteriorated significantly,” Lubinets said.
In a Telegram post, the Russian Ministry of Defense identified the 103 Russian troops exchanged as those captured by Ukrainian forces during a cross-border incursion into Russia's western Kursk border area last month.
According to the Russian army ministry, the servicemen recovered in the swap are presently undergoing medical and psychological care in ally Belarus before returning to Russia.
The Saturday prisoner swap occurred a day after Ukrainian military officials claimed that Russia had given over 49 Ukrainian nationals. Ukrainian officials did not specify how many Russians were released in the Friday swap, and Russia made no comment on the transaction.
Following the Kursk offensive, Ukraine said that it may conduct more rounds of prisoner swaps.
Ukrainian officials earlier stated that their troops had detained at least 600 Russian soldiers during the Kursk incursion, and that this would aid in the repatriation of abducted Ukrainians. The number of captives seized during the Kursk attack could not be independently verified and is likely to fluctuate given the ongoing fighting in the region.
Lubinets stated that the Saturday prisoner swap is the 57th time Russian and Ukrainian forces have exchanged prisoners of war. The Ukrainian official stated that the Kyiv administration has secured the release of 3,672 Ukrainians since the beginning of the current war in February 2022.
While Ukraine's cross-border attack on Russia's Kursk area has received worldwide attention, Russian soldiers have continued to move into regions of eastern Ukraine. Russian soldiers are now closing in on the strategically important town of Pokrovsk, a crucial Ukrainian supplies hub in the eastern Donbas.
If Russian forces capture Pokrovsk, they may impede Ukrainian soldiers' resupply further in the Donbas area.
Zelenskyy has increasingly asked his supporters in the United States, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere to lift limits on the long-range weaponry they have delivered to Ukraine, allowing his forces to attack far within Russia. Zelenskyy's allies have been reluctant to fulfill such demands, which might exacerbate the situation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on Friday that if NATO allows Ukraine to deploy supplied military systems for large-scale long-range strikes within Russia, he would regard 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 sustained support for Ukraine, but no decision was announced to ease limits on how Ukrainian troops employ long-range attack weaponry.
