Russia, Ukraine exchange 206 prisoners in second swap in two days

By Olena Harmash

KYIV (Reuters) -Russia and Ukraine conducted a major exchange of 206 prisoners on Saturday, 103 apiece, in their second such swap in two days, following negotiations mediated by the United Arab Emirates, officials said.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy credited the release of the prisoners to his forces' recent incursion into Russia. The released Ukrainians -- 82 soldiers and privates and 21 officers -- had been held since the early months of the war, he said.

The Russian Defence Ministry said that the 103 Russian soldiers exchanged had been taken prisoner in the border Kursk region where Ukrainian forces launched the surprise incursion in August.

"Our people are home," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app. "We have successfully brought back another 103 warriors from Russian captivity to Ukraine."

In his nightly video address, he thanked his combat forces for their courage and the team handling the exchanges. "In particular, our operation in the Kursk region gave a necessary boost," he added.

Zelenskiy posted pictures of servicemen wrapped in the national blue and yellow flag, hugging each other, talking on mobile phones and posing for group photographs at an undisclosed location.

In his video address, he said those released included soldiers who fought to defend the city of Mariupol. The Azov brigade, which took part in the three-month defence of the port in 2022, said in a post on its Telegram channel that 23 of its men were among the captives released on Saturday.

The exchange was mediated by the UAE, Emirati state news agency WAM said. It was the country's eighth such mediation since the start of 2024, it said.

Kyiv and Moscow have frequently exchanged prisoners since Russia's invasion in February 2022, and Saturday's swap was the third since Ukraine began a cross-border incursion into Russia's Kursk region in early August.

Ukrainian officials have previously said Kyiv's forces had captured at least 600 Russian soldiers during the incursion, and that this would help it secure the return of captured Ukrainians.

Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's human rights ombudsman said that Kyiv had so far secured the return of 3,672 Ukrainians in 57 exchanges.

(Additional reporting by Oleksandr Kozhukhar in Kyiv, Adam Makary in Cairo and Elaine Monaghan in Washington, Editing by Louise Heavens and Ros Russell)