While the Russian Defense Ministry says 150 prisoners were exchanged in a New Year deal, Zelenskyy welcomes 189 Ukrainians home.
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged more than 300 prisoners of war (POWs) in an exchange brokered by the United Arab Emirates before New Year’s Eve, officials from both countries said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Monday it had exchanged 150 Ukrainian prisoners, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy said 189 Ukrainians had returned home.
There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy in the reported numbers.
“The return of our people from Russian captivity is always very good news for each of us. And today is one of those days: our team managed to bring 189 Ukrainians home,” Zelenskyy posted on the Telegram messaging app.
He said the swap included two civilians captured in the southern port city of Mariupol in 2022, while thanking the United Arab Emirates for helping negotiate the swap.
Photos released by Zelenskyy showed dozens of men sitting on a bus, some of them draped in the blue and yellow national flags of Ukraine.
A video released by Russia’s human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, showed soldiers gathered outside buses, dressed in winter clothes and military gear.
“I thank you for your service, patience and courage”, said Moskalkova, wishing him a happy New Year.
“Very soon our sons will hug their relatives and friends and celebrate the New Year in their hometown,” she wrote in a Telegram message accompanying the video.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the freed prisoners were given psychological and medical help in neighboring Belarus, a key ally of Moscow, before being flown home.
There have been 60 different prisoner exchanges since the war began in February 2022. The most recent exchange took place in mid-October when the two countries exchanged 95 prisoners each.
Ukraine said on Monday that Moscow had released a total of 3,956 people – soldiers and civilians – in deals with Kiev since the beginning of the conflict. Zelenskyy promised to continue to press for the release of the remaining prisoners.
“We continue to work to free every person from Russian captivity. This is our goal and we will not forget anyone. I thank the team that is doing everything to bring our people home,” he wrote.
The prisoner swap came after US President Joe Biden announced on Monday that the United States would send nearly $2.5 billion in more weapons to Ukraine as his administration moves quickly to spend all the money it has available to help Kiev to fight Russia before President-elect Donald Trump. take the task.
