Russia, Ukraine each bring home 95 prisoners of war in swap brokered by UAE

Russia and Ukraine carried retired a caller speech of prisoners of warfare connected Friday, each broadside bringing location 95 prisoners successful an statement successful which the United Arab Emirates acted arsenic mediator.

Russia's Defense Ministry, successful a station connected the Telegram messaging app, said the returning Russian work members were undergoing aesculapian checks successful Belarus, 1 of Russia's closest allies successful the much than 2-1/2-year-old war.

Video posted connected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Telegram relationship showed men, immoderate wrapped successful the bluish and yellowish Ukrainian flag, getting disconnected a autobus good aft acheronian and being embraced by loved ones.

A Russian subject video showed smiling soldiers boarding buses.

"Every clip Ukraine rescues its radical from Russian captivity, we get person to the time erstwhile state volition beryllium returned to each who are successful Russian captivity," Zelenskyy wrote.

The president said the freed prisoners had served connected assorted fronts, including immoderate who had defended the larboard metropolis of Mariupol for astir 3 months successful 2022.

Ukrainian quality reports said the returnees included Ukrainian writer and rights advocator Maksym Butkevych, convicted by a Russian tribunal of shooting astatine Russian forces.

The assemblage coordinating the affairs of prisoners of warfare said 48 of the returnees had been handed sentences by the Russian judicial system.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian parliament's commissioner for quality rights, said the merchandise was the 58th since the opening of the warfare and brought to 3,767 the full fig of prisoners returned home.

A backstage Russian radical that says it looks aft the interests of prisoners of warfare published a database of returnees and said astir of them were captured successful the Kursk region, wherever Ukrainian forces staged an incursion successful August.

In his remarks, Zelenskyy again referred to soldiers successful that cognition who "replenish the speech fund," meaning the seizure of Russian prisoners to beryllium utilized arsenic a bargaining spot successful exchanges.

Ukrainian forces stay successful Kursk, though Russia's subject says its forces person clawed backmost immoderate of the captured territory.

A connection from the UAE's Foreign Ministry, reported by authorities media, said it was the Gulf state's ninth lawsuit of mediation successful the war. It described the speech arsenic "a reflection of the cooperative and affable relations betwixt the UAE and some countries."

The past known captive swap — involving 103 prisoners from each broadside — took spot successful September.