Kyiv, December 30: Russia and Ukraine have exchanged prisoners of war in the latest such swap that saw the release of hundreds of captives and was brokered with the help of the United Arab Emirates, officials said Monday. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 189 Ukrainian prisoners, including military personnel, border guards and national guards 슬롯사이트� along with two civilians 슬롯사이트� were freed. He thanked the UAE for helping negotiate the exchange.
Russia's Defence Ministry said that 150 Russian soldiers were freed from captivity as part of the exchange in which each side released 150 people. The reason for the discrepancy in numbers wasn't immediately clear. 슬롯사이트We are working to free everyone from Russian captivity,슬롯사이트� Zelenskyy said in a statement. 슬롯사이트We do not forget anyone.슬롯사이트� He posted pictures of Ukrainian soldiers sitting on a bus, some holding the country's blue-and-yellow flags. Russia, Ukraine Swap 206 Prisoners in Exchange Deal Brokered by UAE.
Zelenskyy said that those freed from Russian captivity included defenders of the Snake Island off the Black Sea port of Odesa, which was seized by Russia in the opening days of its invasion, as well as troops who defended the city of Mariupol, that was captured by Moscow's forces early in the war after a nearly three-month siege. 슬롯사이트The return of our people from Russian captivity is always very good news for each of us,슬롯사이트� Zelenskyy said. 슬롯사이트And today is one of those days: our team managed to return 189 Ukrainians home.슬롯사이트� Iran Confirms Arresting Italian Journalist Cecilia Sala.
In Moscow, the Defence Ministry said that Russian servicemen were first taken to the territory of Russia's neighbour and ally Belarus, where they received 슬롯사이트psychological and medical assistance슬롯사이트� before moving to Russia. Russia and Ukraine have conducted dozens of such prisoner exchanges during the nearly three-year war. The prisoner exchange came as President Joe Biden announced Monday that the United States will send nearly USD 2.5 billion more in weapons to Ukraine as his administration works quickly to spend all the money it has available to help Kyiv fight off Russia before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
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