Russia and Ukraine exchange hundreds of prisoners of war

Russia and Ukraine have exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The Russian Defense Ministry said it had exchanged 150 captive Ukrainian soldiers for an equal number of Russian troops.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy said 189 Ukrainians had returned home.

He added that among those released are “defenders of Azovstal and Mariupol”, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and Snake Island.

Outside a hospital in northern Ukraine, anxious relatives were bundled up against the winter cold, waiting for their loved ones.

A woman, Alina, was waiting for her husband, Oleksandr. He was captured defending the city of Mariupol in 2022.

“I have so many emotions,” she said, tears streaming down her face, “It’s been so hard. I just want to see it.”

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said the newly freed Russian troops were in Belarus, a Russian ally, and were receiving medical assistance and the opportunity to contact their families.

In a video posted by Russian human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova, soldiers are seen gathered in front of trainers dressed in military and winter clothing.

“Very soon our boys will hug their families and friends and celebrate the New Year in their homeland,” he said in an accompanying message.

This was the 59th prisoner exchange since the full-scale invasion began and one of the largest yet.

On the Ukrainian side, those released included soldiers, border guards, members of the National Guard and Navy servicemen. Many had been in captivity for more than two and a half years and Ukrainian officials said some had returned with serious illnesses and injuries.

For some families, the agonizing uncertainty has come to an end. But thousands more Ukrainians remain captive in Russia and occupied parts of Ukraine.

kyiv officials told the BBC that negotiations over the prisoner exchange have become more difficult in recent months, since Russian forces began making significant advances on the battlefield.

Ukraine does not publish the number of prisoners of war held by Russia, but the total is believed to exceed 8,000.

Zelensky said two civilians captured in Mariupol were among dozens of soldiers, sergeants, border guards and officers released on Monday.

“We are working to free everyone from Russian captivity. This is our goal. We are not forgetting anyone,” Zelensky said. He posted photos showing some of the traded men sitting on a coach holding yellow and blue Ukrainian flags.

In May 2022, Russia declared victory after a months-long battle to conquer the port city of Mariupol, southeastern Ukraineafter the last fighters defending the Azovstal steel plant in the city had surrendered.

Russian troops seized Chernobyl in the country’s northwest at the start of their invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but later returned control of the plant to its employees.

Snake Island in the Black Sea was also captured in 2022 and Ukrainian soldiers were taken prisoner, but later exchanged for Russian captives.