Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war

Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had exchanged 150 detained Ukrainian soldiers for an equal number of Russian soldiers.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensy said that 189 Ukrainians have returned home.

He added that those freed included “defenders of Azovstal and Mariupol”, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and Snake Island.

The BBC was present as freed Ukrainians were reunited with their loved ones in northern Ukraine.

Before they arrived, Alina was waiting for her husband Oleksandr – who was captured while defending the southeastern city of Mariupol in 2022 – with tears streaming down her face.

“I have a lot of feelings,” “it was hard, I just wanted to see him.”

Released prisoner Anatoliy, who was captured in the southeastern city of Mariupol in 2022, told the BBC he was “overwhelmed with emotion”.

“Thank God this day has come. We are home. Now we will support Ukraine with everything we have,” he said.

Another freed prisoner, Igor, told the BBC: “I am very happy to be back in my country, my country. I have no words to say what I am feeling now.”

Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that the recently released Russian soldiers were in Belarus and were being given medical assistance and the opportunity to contact their families.

In a video posted by Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova, soldiers were seen huddled in front of trainers wearing military and winter clothing.

“Soon our boys will hug their families and friends and celebrate the New Year in their country,” he said in an accompanying message.

This was the 59th exchange of prisoners since the full-scale offensive began and one of the largest to date.

On the Ukrainian side, those released include soldiers, border guards, National Guard and Navy personnel. Many had been detained for more than two and a half years, and Ukrainian officials said some returned seriously ill and injured.

For some families, the painful uncertainty is over. But thousands more Ukrainians remain imprisoned in Russia and in parts of Ukraine.

Officials in Kyiv have told the BBC that talks over the prisoner exchange have become more difficult in recent months – since Russian forces began making major advances on the battlefield.

Ukraine does not publish the numbers of prisoners of war held by Russia, but the total is thought to be more than 8,000.

Denys Prokopenko, commander of Ukraine’s 12th Special Forces Azov Brigade that defended Mariupol’s Azovstal steel plant before it was seized by Russian forces, said X that 11 men were returned in turn.

Prokopenko was released in a prisoner exchange in 2022.

Zelensky said two citizens kidnapped in Mariupol were also among those released.

“We are working to free everyone from Russian captivity. This is our goal. We do not forget anyone,” said Zelensky. He posted photos showing some of the displaced men sitting on a coach holding up yellow and green Ukrainian flags.

In May 2022, Russia declared victory after a months-long battle for victory in the southeastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupoland the last fighters defending the Azovstal steel plant have surrendered.

The Russian military seized Chernobyl in the northwest of the country at the start of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but later returned control of the facility to its workers.

Snake Island in the Black Sea was also captured in 2022 and Ukrainian soldiers were captured, but later exchanged for Russian hostages.