Ukraine and Russia carried out a new prisoner of war exchange on Monday, and Kiev brought home 189 former prisoners of war, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Monday.
Zelensky thanked the United Arab Emirates and other partners for facilitating the exchange.
“The return of our people from Russian captivity is always very good news for each of us. And today is one of those days: our team managed to bring home 189 Ukrainians,” Zelensky said on the Telegram messaging app.
On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the prisoner exchange, saying each side had released 150 prisoners of war. No direct explanation was given for the discrepancy in the numbers reported.
Zelensky said the returning Ukrainians included soldiers, sergeants and officers from various frontline areas, as well as two civilians who were captured in the southern port of Mariupol, occupied by Russian troops in 2022.
The photos published by Zelensky show several dozen men sitting on the bus, some of them wrapped in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags.