Ukraine, Russia complete UAE-mediated prisoner swap
Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates officials said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that 230 Ukrainians including 213 soldiers and sergeants, 11 officers and six civilians were returned in the swap.
"I am grateful to everyone who achieved this result.We remember each and every one of our people. And we must return all of them," Zelensky wrote on social media.
230 of our people. Today, 213 soldiers and sergeants, 11 officers, and 6 civilians returned home. I am grateful to everyone who achieved this result.
We remember each and every one of our people. And we must return all of them.
pic.twitter.com/RCeYnLYPn4— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 3, 2024
The Russian state news agency TASS said 248 Russian servicemen were released during the prisoner swap.
According to Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the Rossiya Segodnya media group, 75 Russian servicemen were also exchanged for five members of the Ukraine's Azov regiment designated as a terrorist organization in Russia.
UAE's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its appreciation to the governments of the Russian Federation and Ukraine for their cooperation and response to the UAE mediation efforts to make the prisoner exchange process a success, despite the challenges posed by the current war conditions."
The UAE added that it is committed to continuing efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine as it called for diplomacy, dialogue and reducing escalation.
UAE's Foreign Ministry said the prisoner exchange was "one of the largest prisoner exchanges between the two sides since the beginning of the war."
