KYIV: Russia and Ukraine have released a total of 190 captured soldiers in the latest prisoner exchange between the two countries, officials in Moscow and Kyiv announced on Wednesday.
Thousands of POWs have been freed in more than 50 individual exchanges throughout the war -- an area where the two sides have been able to strike rare agreements since Russia attacked in February 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russia's defence ministry on Wednesday each said that 95 of their soldiers had been freed.
"We continue to bring our people home. Another 95 defenders have been released from Russian captivity," Zelensky said in a post on Telegram. He said the exchange was mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
"As a result of a negotiation process, 95 Russian servicemen... have been returned," Russia's defence ministry said on Telegram.
The ministry shared video images of the freed Russian soldiers smiling and chanting "Glory to Russia" as they were transported by bus to an undisclosed location.
Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova shared a video in which the soldiers, interviewed by Russian officials, said they felt well and did not complain of any health problems.
In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that 1,348 Russian soldiers were being held in Ukrainian captivity, and that Russia had detained 6,465 Ukrainian POWs.
Exchanges have taken place sporadically throughout the conflict.
In a rare instance of direct talks between officials from Moscow and Kyiv, Moskalkova said her office met with a counterpart from Ukraine at the exchange.
The first such meeting took place at an exchange in June, Ukraine's human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets told AFP at the time.
The officials discussed "joint humanitarian actions, including those related to the reunification of families", Moskalkova said.
Kyiv accuses Russia of having forcibly deported thousands of Ukrainian children from territory that came under Moscow's control, and is working to secure their return.
Moscow says children were moved for their own protection. Several have been returned, including through deals brokered by Qatar.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin on Wednesday denied a major ground offensive on Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region had failed, after Russian officials said they would seal off border villages to protect civilians from Ukrainian shelling. Russia in May launched a surprise assault into the Kharkiv region, which sits across the border from Russia's Belgorod region.
But on Tuesday, Belgorod's regional governor announced that civilian access to 14 Russian border villages would be restricted given the ongoing intensity of Ukrainian cross-border attacks. — AFP
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
