Russia and Ukraine exchanged 372 detainees of war, consisting of nearly 2 dozen severely wounded Ukrainian soldiers, authorities in Moscow and Kyivsaid Wednesday.President Vladimir Putin had revealed Tuesday night that the exchange would take place, with each side launching 175 POWs.
He likewise stated Russia would return an extra 23 injured Ukrainian soldiers as a goodwill gesture.Russias Defense Ministry said Wednesday that it released 22 injured Ukrainian soldiers but did not describe why the figure was one soldier less than what the Kremlin guaranteed the day before.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky laterconfirmedthe exchange and shared images of servicemen, some in crutches, wrapped in Ukrainian flags.
He said the returnees were members of different military branches, territorial defense forces and border guards who had actually combated across southern, eastern and northeastern Ukraine, in addition to in southwestern Russias Kursk region.Ukraines human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinetssaidthe 197-for-175 exchange brought the variety of Ukrainian soldiers who returned home given that the full-blown invasion to more than 4,300.
Russias military credited the United Arab Emirates, which has actually brokered previous Russian-Ukrainian detainee swaps given that the war started in 2022, for moderating the most recent exchange.It said Russian soldiers released in the swap were going through psychological and medical examinations in surrounding Belarus before returning to Russia for treatment and rehabilitation.The prisoner exchange happened less than 24 hours after Putin, in talks with Trump, agreed to a 30-day suspension of attacks on energy infrastructure.Zelensky stated he supported the limited ceasefire but argued that Putins refusal to agree to a broader U.S.-proposed offer revealed the Russian leader was not prepared for peace and still aimed to damage Ukraine.Earlier on Wednesday, Russias Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of weakening the truce by introducing a drone strike on an oil depot in the southern Krasnodar region over night.