Russia and Ukraine exchanged 146 prisoners of war from each camp, the Ministry of Defense of Russia announced on Sunday, August 24, in a statement, when diplomatic efforts destined to resolve the conflict seem to be bogged down.
“On August 24, 146 Russian soldiers returned from the territory controlled by the kyiv regime,” said the Ministry of Telegram, stating that “146 Ukrainian prisoners of war were presented in return,” thanks to the mediation efforts of the United Arab Emirates.
According to the same source, eight inhabitants of the Russian border region of Koursk, “illegally retained” by Ukraine, to Russia, according to the same source.
The Ukrainian forces entered the Koursk region in August 2024, occupying part for several months, before being removed by the Russian forces in spring, using North Korean fighters.
“I attended this happy event in person,” wrote the Russian delegate of Human Rights, Tatiana Moskalkova, in Telegram, referring to the delivery of Russia of the eight inhabitants of the Koursk region, which, according to her, took place in the Bélarusian soil.
Thousands of prisoners exchanged in 2025
In a video transmitted by him, we see these people, essentially older ladies, we talk to him and smile, in a minibus.
The exchanges of prisoners and bodies of murdered soldiers are one of the last areas where Moscow and kyiv continue to cooperate, more than three and a half years after the beginning of the Russian assault against Ukraine.
The two belligerents exchanged thousands of prisoners this year, in accordance with the agreements found during three sessions of direct conversations in Istanbul from May to July.
These exchanges are the only concrete result of these meetings. During the last meeting in this format in July, the two delegations could only notice “the distance” of their positions to end the conflict.
Source: BFM TV
