Russia and Ukraine swap more than 300 prisoners before US transition
ISTANBUL — Russia and Ukraine announced Monday that they had exchanged more than 300 prisoners of war in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates. The swap comes just weeks before U.S. military aid for Ukraine is likely to be thrown into question under the Trump administration.
Ukraine received back 189 soldiers, border guards and civilians, including some captured in the initial weeks of the Russian invasion almost three years ago, while Russia received 150 troops, officials in Ukraine and Russia said Monday.
The two countries have held several prisoner exchanges in recent months, mostly brokered by the UAE, but Monday’s swap, the largest in months, comes at a fraught time for Ukraine as the United States is approaching a political transition.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement Monday that “bringing back our people from Russian captivity is always good news, and today is one of those days.”
“We are working to free each and every one from Russian captivity,” he added. “This is our goal. We are not forgetting about anyone.”
The released Ukrainians included soldiers captured during Russia’s offensive around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and in the siege of Mariupol in the first months of the 2022 invasion.
The Russian Defense Ministry in a statement Monday confirmed the release of 150 Russian soldiers and 150 Ukrainian troops, a number that did not include the border guards and two civilians.
Tatyana Moskalkova, the Russian commissioner for human rights, greeted the Russian soldiers, who were dressed in khaki camouflage, as they got off buses in a border area in Belarus, according to images released by her office Monday.
“I’m thanking you for your service, patience and bravery — and for going through all of this,” she told the men at a parking lot.
She added: “We’re very grateful that our Ministry of Defense worked so hard to bring you home. Our president worried a lot.”
Before Monday’s exchange, the total number of captives from both sides released through Emirati mediation was 2,184, according to the UAE Foreign Ministry.
Hours before the swap, the White House announced $2.5 billion in additional security aid for Ukraine as President Joe Biden used his final weeks in office to rush assistance to Ukraine amid uncertainty around President-elect Donald Trump’s commitment to helping Ukraine fight off the Russian invasion.
Trump has repeatedly said that he wants to mediate an end to the war and signaled during his campaign that the United States should not foot the bill for Ukraine’s resistance.
Nonetheless, Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, said Monday that Russia had no immediate plans to hold talks on Ukraine.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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