Russia and Ukraine swap hundreds of prisoners of war

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

The Russian Defense Ministry said it had exchanged 150 Ukrainian soldiers held captive for an equal number of Russian troops.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy said 189 Ukrainians had returned home.

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

Outside a hospital in northern Ukraine, anxious relatives were wrapped against the bitter winter cold, waiting for their loved ones.

A woman, Alina, was waiting for her husband, Oleksandr. He was captured while defending the city of Mariupol in 2022.

“I have so many emotions,” she said, tears streaming down her face. “It’s been so hard. I just want to see him.”

The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said the recently released Russian troops were in Belarus, a Russian ally, and were receiving medical assistance and the opportunity to contact their families.

In a video released by Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova, soldiers were seen gathering in front of buses in military and winter gear.

“Very soon our guys will hug their families and friends and celebrate the New Year in their native land,” she said in an accompanying message.

This is the 59th prisoner exchange since the start of the large-scale invasion and one of the largest so far.

On the Ukrainian side, those released included soldiers, border guards, members of the National Guard and Navy personnel. Many had been in captivity for more than two and a half years, and Ukrainian authorities said some had returned seriously ill and injured.

For some families, the agonizing uncertainty has ended. But thousands of Ukrainians remain in captivity in Russia and occupied regions of Ukraine.

Officials in kyiv told the BBC that negotiations over prisoner exchanges have become more difficult in recent months – since Russian forces began making significant progress on the battlefield.

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

Denys Prokopenko, commander of the 12th Azov Brigade of the Ukrainian special forces which defended the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol before it was captured by Russian forces, said on X that 11 of the brigade’s men were sent back during the exchange.

Prokopenko was released in a prisoner exchange in 2022.

Zelensky said two civilians captured in Mariupol were also among those released.

“We are working to free everyone from Russian captivity. This is our goal. We are not forgetting anyone,” Zelensky said. He posted photos showing some of the exchanged men sitting on a bus waving yellow and blue Ukrainian flags.

In May 2022, Russia declared victory after months of battle to conquer the country. Mariupol, port city in southeastern Ukrainethe last fighters defending the Azovstal steelworks having surrendered.

Russian troops seized Chernobyl, in the northwest of the country, at the start of their invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but later returned control of the plant to its employees.

Snake Island in the Black Sea was also seized in 2022 and Ukrainian soldiers were taken prisoner, then exchanged for Russian captives.