1 of 2 | Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media that 207 Ukrainian soldiers were returned in Wednesday’s prisoner swap. Photo by Ukrainian President Press Office/ UPI | License Photo
Russia and Ukraine completed a prisoner swap Wednesday, both governments confirmed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X that the trade brought 207 prisoners home. Advertisement
“Our people are back. 207 of them. We return them home no matter what. We remember each Ukrainian in captivity. Both warriors and civilians. We must bring all of them back,” he wrote.
Our people are back. 207 of them. We return them home no matter what.
We remember each Ukrainian in captivity. Both warriors and civilians. We must bring all of them back. We are working on it.
The Ukrainian team has done another excellent job. Budanov, Yermak, Usov, Maliuk,… pic.twitter.com/ZNNdTz3mKO— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 31, 2024
Citing the Ministry of Defense, Russian state news agency TASS said the swap was 195 Ukraine military personnel for 195 Russians.
“On Jan. 31, as a result of the negotiation process, 195 Russian military personnel, who faced mortal danger in captivity, were returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said. “In return, exactly 195 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were transferred.” Advertisement
The last reported prisoner swap was Jan. 4, when Ukraine reported 230 people exchanged for what Russia reported as 248 Russian military personnel.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the United Arab Emirates, which facilitated that release, said it was committed to continuing efforts toward peace in Ukraine, calling for diplomacy and dialogue.
Last Thursday a Russian military plane purported to be carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, was downed in the Belgorod region of Russia as it reportedly was heading for a prisoner-swap rendezvous.
Zelensky said then that Ukraine would investigate the crash in an effort to determine if Ukraine prisoners were in fact onboard that downed plane.
