Russia, Ukraine each swap 95 prisoners of war, Russian Defence Ministry says

19/10/2024 6:22

        Russia and Ukraine each swapped 95 prisoners of war on Friday in an agreement completed with the United Arab Emirates acting as mediator, the Russian Defence Ministry said.
        
        The ministry, in a post on the Telegram messaging app, said the returning Russian service members were undergoing medical checks in Belarus, one of Russia's closest allies in the more than 2-1/2-year-old war.
        
        There was no immediate word of the exchange from Ukrainian authorities.
        
        Ukrainian news reports said the returnees included Ukrainian journalist and rights advocate Maksym Butkevych, convicted by a Russian court of shooting at Russian forces.
        
        The reports said they also included one of Ukraine's Azov brigade fighters who defended the port city of Mariupol for nearly three months in 2022.