World News

Russia and Ukraine announced the exchange of 206 prisoners

Russia and Ukraine have announced the exchange of 206 prisoners of war in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates.

The Russian Ministry of Defense said that 103 of its soldiers were released from among those captured during the attack on Kursk.

Posting pictures of some of those evacuated on Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “Our people are at home”.

Last month, Ukrainian forces launch a surprise attack across the Russian border, it goes up 30km (18 miles) to the Kursk region.

Zelensky said those freed Ukrainians included 82 privates and sergeants and 21 officers of the army, national guard, border guard and police.

He said they were caught defending the regions of Kyiv, Donetsk, Mariupol, Azovstal, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv.

Russia said its freed Belarusian soldiers would also be given the “necessary psychological and medical assistance” and would be allowed to contact their relatives before being sent back to Russia.

In August, following the attack on Kurskthe first exchange was completed involving 230 prisoners in total.

Ukraine’s invasion of Kursk was partly intended to draw troops away from Russian operations in eastern Ukraine.

The latest exchange comes as Russia says it has recaptured a town in eastern Ukraine, where it has made several advances in recent weeks.

On Saturday, the Ministry of Defense said its forces captured the village of Zhelanne Pershe in the Pokrovsk region.

It is less than 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the city of Pokrovsk, which is home to an important railway station and sits at the crossroads of several important roads.

The village plays a important role as a transportation hub to Ukrainian forces in the eastern region of Donbas, and for months it has been the main target of Russian forces.


Source link

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button