Russia and Ukraine Exchange Prisoners of War

Ukrainian soldiers hold flags of their units after a prisoners exchange at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP

Russia and Ukraine have each exchanged 95 prisoners of war in negotiations carried out by the United Arab Emirates, both countries reported on July 17.

The Russian Defense Ministry (RDM) first reported the exchange in a post on Telegram in which it stated that the 95 Russian troops who were “in mortal danger in captivity have been returned from the territory controlled by the Kiev regime.”

Russian Aerospace Forces will return the troops to Moscow where they will be treated, the RDM said.

“When Russian Servicemen returned from captivity, humanitarian actions were carried out by the United Arab Emirates,” the RDM said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the exchange on X.

“These are warriors of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, and the border guards,” he stated. “I am grateful to our team responsible for the exchanges and to the United Arab Emirates for mediating this release.

“No matter how difficult it is, we search for everyone who might be in captivity, and we must bring them all back.”

It is the 54th exchange since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

Some of the Ukrainians had spent over two years in captivity and more than 3,400 civilians and military personnel have been returned since the war began.

Russia and Ukraine each returned 90 prisoners of war in June and 75 in May.

The United Arab Emirates oversaw both exchanges.

‘A Humanitarian Crisis’

Earlier in July, the United Nations (UN) reported Human Rights Chief Volker Türk’s anger over Russia’s “relentless” attacks that he said were destroying Ukrainian infrastructure and “deepening the humanitarian crisis” with a civilian death count of 436 and 1,760 injured between March and May.

“These high civilian casualties are largely the result of the ground offensive and aerial attacks, including with powerful air-dropped bombs, that took place in the Kharkiv region,” he said.

Mr. Türk reported that Russian forces have been targeting power sources, cutting off electricity for hours and limiting access to water.

This has caused issues with public transportation, jobs, and tax revenues, Mr. Türk said.

“But the worst is possibly yet to come,” he said.

Repeated strikes have prevented energy companies from making repairs before the approach of winter when temperatures in Ukraine will reach below freezing.

Mr. Türk called for the Russian Federation to end the war and withdraw troops.

“War is the worst enemy of human rights,” he said. “It has to be shunned and peace must be found in line with the UN Charter and international law.”