Ukraine says it brings home 189 POWs in swap with Russia

'The return of our people from Russian captivity is always very good news for each of us,' said Zelenskyy.

Kyiv | December 30, 2024 10:43 PM IST

1 min read

A group of Russian soldiers sit in a bus after being released in a prisoners swap between Russia and Ukraine, at an unspecified location in Belarus. (AP Photo)

Ukraine and Russia carried out a new exchange of prisoners of war on Monday, with Kyiv bringing home 189 former captives, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday. Zelenskyy thanked the United Arab Emirates and other partners for facilitating the swap.

“The return of our people from Russian captivity is always very good news for each of us. And today is one of such days: our team managed to bring 189 Ukrainians home,” Zelenskyy said on the Telegram messaging app.

The Russian Defence Ministry reported earlier on Monday the prisoner swap, saying each side had freed 150 prisoners of war. There was no immediate explanation of the discrepancy in the numbers reported.

Also Read: | Russia, Ukraine swap 115 prisoners each

Zelenskyy said the returning Ukrainians included soldiers, sergeants, and officers from different frontline areas and also two civilians who had been captured in the southern port of Mariupol taken by the Russian troops in 2022. Pictures released by Zelenskyy showed dozens of men sitting in a bus, some of them wrapped in Ukraine’s national blue and yellow flags.

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