By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
MOSCOW/KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Russia and Ukraine have exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates, officials confirmed.
The Russian defense ministry said it had swapped 150 Ukrainian soldiers held captive for an equal number of Russian troops.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 189 Ukrainians had returned home. Reporters witnessed freed Ukrainians reuniting with their loved ones in the country’s north.
Reporters witnessed emotional scenes with prisoners of war reuniting with their families after weeks, months, and – for some – close to three years.
“I’m euphoric; I don’t understand that I’m already free, although I’ve waited every minute, and my family waited. Unfortunately, Mariupol is lost; my hometown in which I lived for 40 years is no longer there, but my family remains alive,” a released Ukrainian prisoner said.
The 36-year-old Vasyl Neshcheret recalled he was guarding the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine when he was taken prisoner at the very beginning of the war in February 2022. He said he couldn’t believe he was free in his homeland once more and “free of abuse” from Russian captors.
COUNTRY’S FLAG
“The most important thing is that I am on my land; I saw my country’s flag and my family. This is just… the best; it’s just amazing. After everything that happened to us in Russia, after what they did to us.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the United Arab Emirates for facilitating the exchange. Worthy News also learned that the Vatican has been involved in or pressured prisoner exchanges.
Zelenskyy said that those freed from Russian captivity also included defenders of the Snake Island off the Black Sea port of Odesa, which Russia seized in the opening days of its invasion, and troops who defended the city of Mariupol, which Moscow’s forces captured early in the war after a nearly three-month siege.
“The return of our people from Russian captivity is always very good news for each of us,” Zelenskyy said. “And today is one of those days: our team managed to return 189 Ukrainians home.”
There have been ten exchanges of prisoners of war between Russia and Ukraine in 2024 and 59 exchanges overall since Russia’s invasion.
Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War Two has stretched on from what was supposed to be a fast-moving Russian invasion since February 2022.
US SUPPORT
The almost three-year grueling tug-of-war between the two countries has killed or wounded about a million people, according to U.S. estimates.
As the exchange was underway, outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration hurried to confirm almost $ 6 billion in military and budget aid for Ukraine before President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month.
“I’ve directed my administration to continue surging as much assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible,” Biden said in a statement.
“At my direction, the United States will continue to work relentlessly to strengthen Ukraine’s position in this war over the remainder of my time in office,” he added.
Trump has expressed reluctance to support Kyiv’s military, saying he wants to focus on peace between Russia and Ukraine.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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