Russia, Ukraine swap 206 POWs in UAE-brokered deal

KIEV

Moscow and Kiev swapped 103 prisoners of war each on Saturday in a UAE-brokered deal, a rare moment of coordination between the warring sides as Russia pushes ahead in east Ukraine.

The Russians released in the swap were captured during Ukraine's incursion into the Kursk region, Moscow said, while some of the Ukrainians freed had been held prisoner since Moscow seized the Azovstal steel plant in May 2022.

"Another 103 soldiers were returned to Ukraine from Russian captivity," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram.

Among the freed were 82 privates and sergeants as well as 21 officers, Zelensky said.

Russia confirmed it had "handed over" 103 Ukrainian army prisoners, and received 103 Russian servicemen captured by Kiev in its Kursk offensive in return.

Despite ongoing hostilities, Russia and Ukraine have managed to swap hundreds of prisoners throughout the two-and-half-year conflict, often in deals brokered by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia or Türkiye.

The announcement comes a day after Zelensky said 49 Ukrainian POWs had been returned from Russia, and three weeks ago both sides swapped 115 prisoners each in a deal also mediated by the UAE.

The prisoner swap came as Russia pushed ahead in east Ukraine, where it claims to have captured a string of villages in recent weeks.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a daily briefing it had "liberated" the village of Zhelanne Pershe, less than 30 kilometers from the key Ukrainian-held logistics hub of Pokrovsk.

Pokrovsk lies on the intersection of a key road that supplies Ukrainian troops and towns across the eastern front and has long been a target for Moscow's army.