Russia and Ukraine successfully exchanged 103 prisoners of war each on Saturday in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates. Despite ongoing hostilities, the two nations have managed several POW swaps throughout the conflict, with this latest exchange following a similar deal made just three weeks ago.
Russia said Saturday it swapped 103 Ukrainian soldiers held captive for an equal number of Russian POWs in an exchange deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates.
The Russian troops freed in Saturday's swap were captured during Ukraine's incursion into the Kursk region, which began on 6 August, according to the Russian defence ministry.
"As a result of the negotiation process, 103 Russian servicemen captured in the Kursk region were returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime," the Russian defence ministry said.
"In return, 103 Ukrainian army prisoners of war were handed over."
"At present, all Russian servicemen are on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, where they are being provided with the necessary psychological and medical assistance, as well as an opportunity to contact their relatives," the ministry added.
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed Ukraine brought home 103 servicemen from Russian captivity.
"Our people are home. We have successfully brought back another 103 warriors from Russian captivity to Ukraine," Zelensky wrote on social media platform X.
"I thank our exchange team for delivering such good news for Ukraine," he added.
Despite ongoing hostilities, Russia and Ukraine have managed to swap hundreds of prisoners throughout the two-and-half-year conflict, often in deals brokered by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia or Turkey.
The announcement came just three weeks after Russia and Ukraine swapped 115 prisoners of war each in an exchange deal also mediated by the UAE.
The UAE's foreign ministry hailed the deal as a "success" and thanked both sides for their cooperation on Saturday.
Russian troops advance towards Pokrovsk
The prisoner swap came as Russia on Saturday pushed ahead in eastern Ukraine, where it claims to have captured a string of villages in recent weeks.
The Russian defence ministry said in a daily briefing it had "liberated" the village of Zhelanne Pershe, less than 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the key Ukrainian-held logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
Pokrovsk lies on the intersection of a key road that supplies Ukrainian troops and towns across the eastern front and has long been a target for Moscow's army.
More than half of the city's 60,000 residents have fled since the invasion began in February 2022, with evacuations ramping up in recent weeks as Moscow's army closes in.
Ukraine had hoped its major cross-border incursion into the Kursk region last month would slow down Russia's advances in the east.
But Zelensky has conceded that while the Russian advance in eastern Ukraine had slowed down, the situation on the eastern front was "very difficult".
Ukraine renews calls for Western approval of strikes inside Russia
Ukraine made a new call Saturday on the West to allow it to strike deeper into Russia after a meeting between US and British leaders a day earlier produced no visible shift in their policy on the use of long-range weapons.
“Russian terror begins at weapons depots, airfields, and military bases inside the Russian Federation,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Andriy Yermak said Saturday. “Permission to strike deep into Russia will speed up the solution.”
The call came a day after US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met in Washington, DC, but no decision on allowing Ukraine to fire long-range missiles into Russian territory was taken.
Read moreBiden, Starmer delay decision to approve long-range strikes inside Russia
Zelensky has been pressing the US and other allies to allow his forces to use Western weapons to target air bases and launch sites deep inside Russia.
On Saturday morning, Zelensky did not directly comment on the Biden-Starmer meeting. But he said Ukraine needed to boost its long-range capabilities.
“We need to boost our air defence and long-range capabilities to protect our people,” Zelensky wrote on social media. “We are working on this with all of Ukraine’s partners.”
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
