Ukraine and Russia exchange around 100 captive soldiers

kyiv, Ukraine (AP) — Russia and Ukraine exchanged more than 100 prisoners of war on Monday as kyiv celebrated its third Independence Day since the start of its full-scale invasion of Moscow.

Ukraine said the 115 freed soldiers were conscripts and many were detained in the early months of the Russian invasion. They included about 50 soldiers captured by Kremlin forces after the siege of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol.

Russia’s defence ministry said its 115 soldiers were captured in Russia’s Kursk region, where Kiev troops launched a surprise attack two weeks ago. The soldiers were in Belarus but will be transferred to Russia for medical treatment and rehabilitation, it added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky explained on X that the United Arab Emirates once again acted as a mediator in the exchange, the 55th since the start of the Russian operation in the neighboring country in February 2022.

The images accompanying the president’s message showed emaciated soldiers with shaved heads and draped in Ukrainian flags.

“We remember each and every one of them. We are searching and doing everything possible to bring them all back,” Zelensky added.

Officials from both sides only meet when they exchange dead and prisoners of war, after long preparations and diplomatic efforts.

Neither Ukraine nor Russia say how many prisoners of war there are in total.

According to the United Nations, most Ukrainians suffer routine medical neglect, severe and systemic ill-treatment and even torture while in detention.

There have also been isolated reports of alleged abuse of Russian soldiers, mostly during capture or transit to detention centres.

The attacks continue

Two people were killed and four others wounded, including a baby, when Russian forces shelled the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, the capital of the Kherson region that is partly occupied by Moscow, local authorities said.

The Ukrainian Air Force said it intercepted and destroyed seven drones over the south of the country. In addition, Russian long-range bombers attacked the area of ​​Zmiinyi (Snake) Island with four cruise missiles, while the rest of the Kherson region was hit by aerial bombs.

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