Ukraine and Russia have carried out a new exchange of prisoners, in which 185 Ukrainian servicemen and 20 civilians returned to their homes. The news was announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky in “Telegram“, quoted by Ukrinform, reports BTA.
“Today we are returning home 185 of our defenders. One hundred and eighty-three of them are soldiers and sergeants, and two are officers. These are soldiers from the armed forces, the National Guard and the State Border Service. 20 civilians are also returning home with them. "Everyone will receive the necessary support," Zelensky wrote.
According to him, among the released are defenders who fought in Mariupol and at the Azovstal plant, as well as on the territory of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Most of them have been in Russian captivity since 2022.
“We thank everyone who makes these exchange operations possible. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, we have already returned over 7,000 of our people. We must release everyone and we are working on this every day,” Zelensky stressed.
The previous prisoner exchange took place on August 24, when Ukraine managed to return not only military personnel, but also journalist Dmytro Khiluk and former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolaenko.
The Russian Defense Ministry also confirmed the exchange, saying it had also returned 185 military personnel and 20 civilians. Moscow specified that the operation was carried out within the framework of the agreements of the last round of direct peace talks with Ukraine, held on July 23 in Istanbul.