Russia and Ukraine on Sunday exchanged 146 prisoners apiece in a deal mediated by the United Arab Emirates, officials from both sides confirmed.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said the freed Russians were transported to neighbouring Belarus, where they are receiving medical and psychological care. It added that eight civilians from the Kursk region, captured during a Ukrainian incursion last year, were also returned.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the exchange on Telegram, posting photos of smiling returnees. He said many had been held since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion, including a journalist captured in the early weeks of the war. Zelenskyy thanked the UAE for its role and indicated that further swaps are planned.
“The exchanges are continuing. Perhaps that is possible because of our soldiers, who are increasing the exchange fund for Ukraine,” he wrote, suggesting Kyiv’s capture of additional Russian troops.
The Ukrainian military later confirmed that 146 detainees from each side had been released.
In Moscow, Vladimir Medinsky, a senior negotiator in past peace talks, criticised Kyiv over what he called delays in freeing civilians from the Kursk region. He said more than 20 residents remain in captivity and accused Ukraine of “painful bargaining.”
The exchange underscores the humanitarian stakes of the ongoing conflict and the difficulties that continue to surround negotiations between the two countries.
