Russia, Ukraine swap prisoners captured in co8k8 slotnflict

MOSCOW/KYIV - Russia and Ukraine have each exchanged 75 prisoners who were captured during their ongoing conflict, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday.

The prisoner swap was carried out as a result of a negotiation process mediated by the United Arab Emirates, the ministry said in a statement.

The freed Russian soldiers will be taken to Moscow by military transport aircraft of the Russian aerospace forces, and will receive medical treatment and rehabilitation in the defense ministry's medical facilities, the ministry added.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War confirmed on Friday that 71 Ukrainian military members, among them six officers, and four civilians have returned home.

A total of 3,210 Ukrainians taken captive in the Russia-Ukraine conflict have been released under 52 prisoner exchanges between the parties since March 2022, it said.