Russia and Ukraine have conducted a much-anticipated prisoner swap just ahead of the new year.
Moscow’s defence ministry said each side freed 150 prisoners of war in a swap on Monday, although Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 189 of Kyiv’s soldiers had been brought home.
It’s not immediately clear why there is a discrepancy in the numbers reported.
Both sides said the United Arab Emirates had acted as a mediator.
The Russian captives were released on Belarusian territory and are being transferred to Russia, the defence ministry said.
In a statement on Telegram, Mr Zelenskyy thanked the UAE and other partners for facilitating the swap.
“The return of our people from Russian captivity is always very good news for each of us. And today is one of such days:
our team managed to bring 189 Ukrainians home,” he said.
The returning Ukrainians included soldiers, sergeants and officers from different frontline areas, as well as two civilians who were captured in the southern port of Mariupol in 2022.
Pictures shared by Mr Zelenskyy showed dozens of men sitting in a bus, some of them wrapped in Ukraine’s national blue and yellow flags.
“Everyone has relatives and friends waiting for them at home. And it is a joy that we managed to return them. Today, another 189 families are happy,” the Ukrainian president added.
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