The Russian Ministry of Defense, in a post on the Telegram application, provided only a few details about the exchange process, but said that the returning soldiers would undergo medical examinations in Moscow.
She referred to the “humanitarian mediation” carried out by the UAE. The Ukrainian body supervising the exchange of prisoners of war also spoke about this mediation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, via Telegram, that the majority of soldiers returned to Ukraine participated in a three-month battle to defend the port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, which Russian forces eventually took control of in May 2022.
Reuters quoted the Ukrainian Coordination Committee dealing with prisoners of war as saying that 28 of the returned soldiers were injured or sick.
The previous exchange took place on January 31. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced at the time the recovery of 195 Russian soldiers.
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