Moscow, Kyiv swap prisoners as Ukraine marks independence day – National [Video]

Russia and Ukraine exchanged over 100 prisoners of war on Saturday as Kyiv marked its third Independence Day since Moscow’s full-scale invasion.

Ukraine said the 115 servicemen who were freed were conscripts, many of whom were taken prisoner in the first months of Russia’s invasion. Among them are nearly 50 soldiers captured by Russian forces from the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the 115 Russian soldiers had been captured in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces launched their surprise offensive into Russia two weeks ago. The ministry said the soldiers were currently in Belarus, but would be taken to Russia for medical treatment and rehabilitation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on X that the United Arab Emirates had again brokered the exchange, the 55th since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.

Photos attached to Zelenskyy’s post show …