Russia, Ukraine exchange 160 prisoners of war each in latest swap

Russia and Ukraine on Friday carried out another prisoner exchange, with each side returning 160 prisoners of war, officials from both countries said.

The exchange was first announced by the Russian Defense Ministry, which said the returned Russian servicemen are currently in neighboring Belarus.

“The returned Russian military personnel are currently in the Republic of Belarus, where Russia's Human Rights Commissioner, Yana Lantratova, is working with them,” the ministry said in a statement.

It added that the United Arab Emirates facilitated the exchange through mediation efforts.

Confirming the swap, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on the US social media company X: “We continue bringing Ukrainians home from Russian captivity. Today, 160 servicemembers were released from captivity. All of them had been held captive since 2022.”

Later in his evening address, Zelenskyy said more than 9,500 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been returned since the war started in 2022, including 1,596 this year.