Russia and Ukraine exchange more than 200 prisoners of war in major swap deal

Europe, News April 11, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Russian Ministry of Defense announced that it received 106 prisoners while Kyiv says 100 Ukrainians returned home in a major exchange of the Prisoners of War (PoW). The prisoner swap deal between the two warring states was carried out on April 10, 2023.

According to a statement released by the Russian Ministry of Defense, 106 servicemembers “who had been held captive in mortal danger, were returned from Kyiv-controlled territory”.

The servicemen were received by the Russian forces on the borderlines of ongoing conflicts. The statement further said that released prisoners would be flown back to Moscow after providing the required medical and psychological and medical assistance.

Apart from the 106 servicemen released by the Ukrainian military in accordance with the Geneva Convention, Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters on the Treatment of Prisoners of War handed over five “more severely wounded” prisoners including the only woman who was held in Ukrainian captivity.

The statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense did not mention these five prisoners. Two of these five prisoners are Muslims who have been released as a sign of respect during the holy month of Ramadan.

Kyiv, on the other hand, received 100 of its military servicemen as a result of the prisoner swap deal. Ukraine’s Presidential Office Head Andriy Yermak announced that 100 Ukrainians were returned home on April 10, 2023. He said that the group includes “military, sailors, border guards, and National Guard servicemen.”

Yermak also stated that the “seriously injured and have diseases” soldiers who had been serving as the “defenders of Mariupol, Azovstal and Hostomel” were among those released. He added that the return of all the captured Ukrainians is the key priority for President Volodymyr Zelensky.

*^{Ukrainian civilians and soldiers return home in a prisoner swap with Russia. (Image Credit: Twitter/AndriyYermak)}*

Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters on the Treatment of Prisoners of War provided more details on the Ukrainian servicemen who were returned. The organization posted on social media that “As a result of another exchange of prisoners of war, 80 male defenders and 20 female defenders are returning home.”

The statement added that nine of the released prisoners are officers, while the rest of the released PoWs are privates and sergeants. “This time, 24 National Guardsmen, 22 border guards, 22 representatives of the Navy, 21 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and 11 territorial defense members were released,” it added.

The department said in a statement that “Almost half of the released prisoners have serious injuries, illnesses or have been tortured. The youngest of the liberated defenders is 19 years old”.

Separately on April 10, the Russian-installed head of the captured Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, visited the war-torn region of Bakhmut and said Russian forces are now in control of “more than 75 percent” of the city.