The servicemen were in “mortal danger” in Ukrainian captivity, the Russian Defense Ministry has said
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed on Sunday that 94 servicemen have been returned from captivity, reportedly in exchange for 95 Ukrainian fighters, as Moscow and Kiev conducted the latest in a series of prisoner swaps amid the ongoing conflict.
A video published by the Defense Ministry showed dozens of soldiers, visibly overwhelmed with emotion, being driven home in buses and provided with food and fresh clothes.
According to the Russian ministry, the soldiers included in the latest swap were in “mortal danger” while in Ukrainian captivity, providing no further details. Russia’s human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, said that they would be transported to medical facilities for treatment and psychological rehabilitation.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, said that in exchange, Kiev secured the release of 95 fighters, including some of those taken captive during the battle for the city of Artymovsk (known in Ukraine as Bakhmut), which the Russian forces captured in May after months of heavy fighting.
Since the start of the Ukraine conflict, Moscow and Kiev have conducted numerous POW swaps – one of the few remaining paths of diplomatic engagement between the two countries.
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