2024-01-03 16:17:00
The Russian Ministry of Defense said that 248 Russian servicemen returned from Ukrainian captivity.
The department called the negotiation process “complicated,” and the return of the Russian military, writes the press service of the Ministry of Defense, “became possible thanks to the mediation of the humanitarian nature of the UAE.”
The Ministry of Defense also added that military personnel will be transported by military transport aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces to the department’s medical institutions for treatment and rehabilitation.
Later, information regarding the exchange was confirmed in Ukraine. By words Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmitry Lubinets, Ukraine returned 230 Ukrainian military personnel as part of the exchange. He clarified that among the released military personnel there are those who defended Azovstal and Zmeiny Island in the first weeks of the war. He also added that this was the 49th exchange since the beginning of the war.
Exchange already commented President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky: “Ours are at home. More than 200 of our soldiers and civilians were returned from Russian captivity. Soldiers, sergeants, officers. Warriors of the Armed Forces, National Guard, Navy, border guards,” Zelensky wrote.
During the first year of the war, prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine took place regularly, but from the second half of 2023 they stopped. The last major exchange took place on August 7.
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