In a significant move to ease tensions, Russia and Ukraine have successfully swapped approximately 200 prisoners of war each, according to statements released by both nations on Wednesday. This development comes in the aftermath of last week’s crash of a military transport plane, an incident that escalated tensions. Moscow claimed the plane was carrying Ukrainian POWs and was shot down by Kyiv’s forces.
Following the crash of the Il-76 plane in Russia’s Belgorod region near the Ukraine border on January 24, concerns were raised about the possibility of future POW exchanges. The Russian Defense Ministry reported the exchange of 195 POWs each, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned that 207 Ukrainians were freed. The discrepancy in figures has not been immediately explained.
Ukraine’s ombudsman for human rights, Dmytro Lubinets, revealed on social media that this exchange marked the 50th such event since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion nearly two years ago, with a total of 3,035 POWs repatriated.
Among those released were members of Ukraine’s armed forces, National Guard, Border Service, and national police, as stated by Andrii Yermak, head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office. Some of them were captured while defending Mariupol, Azovstal, and Snake Island.
The Russian military, without providing details or evidence, claimed that the Russian POWs who were part of the exchange “faced deadly danger in captivity” and will be flown to Moscow for treatment and rehabilitation.
The incident on January 24 involved a military transport with 65 Ukrainian POWs on board, as per Moscow’s earlier claim. Ukrainian officials confirmed a planned swap on that day, which was subsequently called off. However, they maintain they have seen no evidence proving the plane was carrying the mentioned POWs.
In Moscow, as part of his reelection campaign, President Vladimir Putin asserted that Russian investigators concluded Ukraine used U.S.-supplied Patriot air defense systems to shoot down the transport plane. Ukrainian officials did not deny the plane’s downing but refrained from taking responsibility, instead calling for an international investigation. Putin insisted that Russia would not only welcome but would “insist” on an international inquiry into what he described as a “crime” by Ukraine.
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