Ukraine has secured the discharge of 49 individuals from Russian captivity within the newest alternate of prisoners with Moscow, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned on Friday (Sep 13).
The most recent swap since Russia’s invasion in 2022 was mediated by the United Arab Emirates, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s navy intelligence company mentioned.
“One other return of our individuals – one thing we all the time await and work tirelessly to realize … We should convey dwelling each single certainly one of our individuals, each navy and civilian,” Zelenskyy mentioned on X, saying the 56th such swap with Russia.
Zelenskyy’s chief of workers, Andriy Yermak, mentioned on the Telegram messaging app the Ukrainians launched included seven civilians in addition to personnel from the armed forces, nationwide guard, police and the border guard service.
Ukraine didn’t say what number of Russians had been launched. Moscow is but to touch upon the swap.
Video footage launched by Ukraine from an undisclosed location confirmed service personnel being greeted with flowers, hugs and leaflets saying: “Thanks for enduring all of it”. One launched prisoner held the leaflet to his coronary heart and wept.
Kyiv and Moscow have steadily exchanged prisoners since Russia’s full-scale invasion, and Friday swap was the second since Ukraine started a cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk area in early August.
Ukraine mentioned its troops had captured not less than 600 Russian troopers throughout the incursion, and that this might assist it safe the return of captured Ukrainians.
Yermak mentioned that a few of Ukrainians launched had taken half within the defence of Mariupol and the Azovstal metal plant within the southern port metropolis, which had been beneath siege in fierce combating and is now occupied by Russian troops.
Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets mentioned Ukraine had now secured the return of three,569 individuals from Russian captivity for the reason that begin of the invasion.
