Russia and Ukraine exchange over 300 POWs in UAE-brokered deal

Russia and Ukraine concluded a significant prisoner exchange on December 30, 2024, facilitated by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed the release of 150 Ukrainian soldiers, while Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that 189 Ukrainians, including military personnel and civilians, were returned home. The discrepancy in reported numbers is not immediately explained, but it may be due to differences in the categories of prisoners or the way each side counts them.

The swap involved individuals held in Russian captivity since the start of the conflict, including defenders of Mariupol, the Azovstal steel plant, Snake Island, and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The freed prisoners included soldiers from the Ukrainian armed forces, border guards, and two civilians who were captured in Mariupol in 2022. The exchange is part of ongoing efforts by both sides to repatriate captured soldiers and civilians since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

This exchange marks the 59th prisoner swap since the war began and is one of the largest of 2024, bringing the total number of Ukrainian prisoners freed this year to 1,358. Ukraine’s Ministry of Reintegration confirmed the release of these individuals as part of a broader effort to bring home all those detained by Russia. Since the start of the war, Russia has released a total of 3,956 individuals, including soldiers and civilians, in exchanges with Ukraine.

The freed prisoners were transferred through Belarus, a Russian ally, where they received medical and psychological support before being sent home. The Russian Ministry of Defence stated that the prisoners had undergone necessary care in Belarus to assist their recovery from the hardships of captivity. A video released by Russia’s human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, showed some of the returning soldiers, dressed in winter clothes, as they prepared to reunite with their families.

The UAE has acted as a key mediator in these exchanges, helping broker deals between Russia and Ukraine. This ongoing process of prisoner exchanges underscores the importance of these negotiations in the broader context of the war. There have been 60 prisoner exchanges since the conflict began, with both sides continuing efforts to free additional prisoners. Ukrainian authorities have reiterated their commitment to ensuring the release of all captured personnel, maintaining that no one will be forgotten in these efforts.