Russia and Ukraine swap 206 POWs in a deal mediated by the UAE
- In Reports
- 07:11 PM, Sep 14, 2024
- Myind Staff
Russia swapped 103 captured Ukrainian soldiers with a similar number of Russian POWs in an exchange that was facilitated by the United Arab Emirates.
“103 Russian servicemen captured in the Kursk region were returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime, In return, 103 Ukrainian army prisoners of war were handed over,” the Russian defence ministry said on Saturday. As per the UN report, most of the Prisoners of War (POW) among Ukrainians have been generally subjected to routine medical neglect, serious and intentional mistreatment, and even torture while detained. There are episodic reports of abuses against Russian servicemen, mostly at the time of capture or when transferred to places of internment.
Both countries have swapped more than 100 prisoners of war each in the last month as Kyiv marked its third Independence Day since Moscow's full-scale invasion. Ukraine says that among the 115 Ukrainian servicemen freed were most of the conscripts who had been captured in the first months of Russia's invasion. Among them are nearly 50 soldiers captured by Russian forces from the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated on July 29 that 115 Russian soldiers had been detained in the Kursk region where the Ukrainian army on July 14 carried out a surprise offensive into Russia. The ministry said that the soldiers are at present in Belarus, but will be taken to Russia for medical treatment and rehabilitation.
Despite the ongoing conflict, hundreds of prisoners have been exchanged between Russia and Ukraine, typically through agreements mediated by middlemen in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, or the United Arab Emirates.
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