Russia and Ukraine completed a new prisoner exchange deal involving nearly 300 people.
Under the terms of the exchange deal, 215 Ukrainians were released, most of whom were captured after Russia took control of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.
In return, Ukraine returned 55 Russian and pro-Moscow prisoners.
Ten foreigners were also released thanks to the mediation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
In a speech last night, Zelensky welcomed the release of the prisoners.
On Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry said 55 of its soldiers had been repatriated in the largest prisoner exchange with Ukraine since the war began.
It added that the fighters, from the Russian armed forces, were transferred to Russia by military plane and are undergoing medical examinations.
Among those released was the pro-Russian Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk.
Among the five released Ukrainian commanders are army lieutenant-colonel Denis Prokopenko and his deputy, Svyatoslav Palamar, both from the Azov battalion that fought much of the battle in Mariupol.
Also released was Serhiy Volynsky, commander of the 36th Marine Brigade, who last April posted a video message from the site where troops were holed up in bunkers under huge steel blocks at a steel plant in Mariupol. “This is our appeal to the world,” he said at the time. It may be the last. We may only have a few days or hours left.”
Zelensky made a video call to the men after their release.
The five leaders will remain in Turkey until the end of the crisis. Zelensky thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his assistance in completing the deal.
Among the foreigners, who were also released, are Moroccan Ibrahim Saadoun, Briton Aiden Aslin and his colleague Sean Boehner, who was sentenced to death last June after their capture in Ukraine. Three other Britons and two Americans, Alexander Drake and Andy Hoen, were released, as well as a Croat and a Swede. “We saved their lives,” Zelensky said. They will all return to their countries with the mediation of Saudi Arabia.”
And the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), today, Thursday, that the five British prisoners have arrived in Britain.
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