Large-scale Prisoner Exchange: 150 Ukrainians Returned Home
Following negotiations mediated by the United Arab Emirates, the largest prisoner exchange of this year between Russia and Ukraine took place on February 5. A total of 150 Ukrainian military personnel returned home, including those who had been held in Russian captivity for over two years, reports NewsBox.
The information was confirmed by both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Russian Ministry of Defense.
"Today is a good day! We are bringing back 150 of our defenders from Russian captivity," declared Volodymyr Zelensky on his Telegram channel.
He highlighted that among those freed are soldiers, sergeants, and officers from the Naval Forces captured in Mariupol and the Zaporizhzhia region, along with members of the Air Force, airborne assault troops, ground forces, National Guard, border guards, territorial defense forces, and a police officer. The president assured that efforts to free all prisoners continue.
The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed the exchange, noting that the released Russian military personnel are currently in Belarus, writes DW.
The previous prisoner exchange between Kyiv and Moscow took place on January 15, also with UAE mediation, when 25 individuals from each side were freed.
On the eve of the prisoner swap, in an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time disclosed approximate figures on Ukrainian army losses. According to him, around 45,100 Ukrainian troops have been killed and about 390,000 wounded during the war. The president explained that the number of injuries exceeds the number of injured individuals as many soldiers, after being wounded, returned to the battlefield and were wounded again. Zelensky also claimed that Russian losses during the full-scale invasion amount to approximately 350,000 killed and 600,000-700,000 wounded. These numbers have not been confirmed by independent sources.
It is worth recalling that on December 12, 2024, Zelensky proposed to the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to exchange North Korean soldiers captured by Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region for Ukrainian military personnel held in Russian captivity. No response has yet been received from Pyongyang to this proposal.