Around 100 captured Russian and Ukrainian soldiers were exchanged in a new operation between Kyiv and Moscow, the two countries said.
“Today we are bringing back 107 of our fighters from Ukrainian prisons”, of which “65 come from the Donetsk and Luhansk people’s republics”, one of the main leaders of the pro-Russian separatists, Denis Pushilin, said on Telegram.
In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry later said that the released soldiers “will be returned to Moscow” in particular for medical examinations.
74 Ukrainian soldiers from Azovstal
Kyiv, for its part, confirmed the exchange of prisoners by the voice of the chief of staff of the Ukrainian presidency, Andriï Iermak, on Telegram. According to him, in that exchange “107 soldiers were released: six officers and 101 soldiers and sergeants,” of whom “many were wounded in March” during the fighting.
Among them, “74 defended “Azovstal”, the giant steelworks in Mariupol, in southeastern Ukraine, which had been besieged in the spring by the Russian army.
The chief of staff of the Ukrainian presidency accompanied his message with two photos showing men dressed in military uniform, smiling. In a short video also posted on his Telegram channel, a dozen of these men could be seen walking towards the soldiers, some approaching them as they arrived.
Russia and Ukraine have conducted multiple prisoner swaps since the war began in February.
Source: BFM TV
