(StraightNews.org) – Warring Russia and Ukraine have successfully completed another prisoner swap that saw each side exchange 90 prisoners of war.
The swap, which was facilitated by the United Arab Emirates, is one of several exchanges between the two countries since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Officials from both sides confirmed the swap, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, celebrating the return of the prisoners back to their home country in a post on Twitter / X. The Ukrainian president also pledged to continue to work for the freedom of others who are still in the custody of Russian forces, and thanked the UAE for its assistance.
On the Russian side, the country’s defense ministry issued a statement on Telegram confirming the exchange as well as the assistance of the UAE, who served as mediator. Russian officials said that the prisoners would be flown to Moscow to receive medical and psychological treatment.
In addition, Tatyana Moskalkova, Russia’s ombudswoman, sat down with her counterpart from Ukraine to hash out a number of issues that could see the release of civilians who are presently being detained by each country’s military forces.
So far, the two countries have had four other similar prisoner swaps this year. All exchanges were mediated by the UAE, which has declared itself a neutral entity in the ongoing armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine. UAE has committed to that neutrality, which has been instrumental in facilitating initiatives such as prisoner swaps between the two countries. In one such instance, close to 500 prisoners of war were able to return home in a UAE-brokered deal, and in another, 75 prisoners of war were exchanged. The Arab country has also refused to capitulate to demands from the U.S. that the UAE take a more active role in supporting sanctions against Russia.
According to the UAE’s foreign ministry, the Emirati’s “special relations and partnership with both sides,” has been the key to enabling such prisoner exchanges to become reality.
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