Ukraine on Thursday announced the release of 106 Ukrainian soldiers captured by the Russians while defending the city of Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine.
“Among those who have returned from captivity, some have been reported missing,” said the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, quoted by Spain’s EFE agency.
Yermak is negotiating with Russia on the exchange of prisoners of war, in the context of the conflict that began with the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
The prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine is one of the few agreements the warring parties have managed to reach.
So far, these processes have been conducted on a reciprocal basis and it is likely that Russia will announce the return to the country of more than 100 military personnel in Ukrainian custody.
The Ukrainian side made no mention of the delivery of prisoners to Russia when announcing the release of the 106 soldiers.
The head of the Ukrainian presidential office considered all the freedmen, which are eight officers and 98 soldiers and sergeants, as heroes.
Kiev also managed to repatriate the remains of three more people, according to the Spanish agency Europa Press.
Yermak stressed that the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky is working to release all Ukrainian prisoners in Russia.
“Each exchange brings us a little bit closer to that goal,” he said.
Despite not being considered a strategic city, the Battle of Bakhmut took on symbolic significance for both Ukrainians and Russians, who lost a large number of soldiers in eight months of fighting.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine plunged Europe into what is considered the worst security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
The exact number of civilian and military casualties is unknown, but several sources, including the UN, have warned it will be high.
Source: DN
