Russia and Ukraine exchange 230 prisoners of war

Moscow, Aug 24 (IANS) Russia and Ukraine on Saturday successfully exchanged 230 prisoners of war following negotiations held with the mediation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"As a result of the negotiation process, 115 Russian servicemen captured in the Kursk region have been returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime. In exchange, 115 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were transferred," the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement.

It mentioned that currently, all Russian servicemen are in the territory of the Belarus, where they are receiving the "necessary psychological and medical assistance", as well as the opportunity to contact their relatives.

"All released servicemen will be delivered to the Russian Federation for treatment and rehabilitation in medical institutions of the Russian Ministry of Defence. The United Arab Emirates provided humanitarian mediation efforts during the return of Russian servicemen from captivity," the ministry added.

The exchange took place as Kyiv is celebrating the 33rd anniversary of Ukraine's Independence on Saturday.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs also expressed its appreciation to the Russian and Ukrainian governments for their cooperation with the country's mediation endeavours, coming less than a month after the previous exchange process.

The total number of captives exchanged through UAE mediation efforts has reached 1,788, it stated. The UAE Ministry emphasised that the success of the new mediation, the seventh since the beginning of this year, is the outcome of the country leveraging its robust ties and partnerships with both sides.

"These efforts reflect the UAE's commitment to being a reliable mediator supporting diplomacy to resolve the crisis between the two countries... Notably, since the beginning of this year, the UAE's mediation efforts have succeeded in completing exchanges of war captives between Russia and Ukraine, in addition to a successful exchange of two prisoners between the United States and the Russian Federation in December 2022," said the UAE Foreign Ministry.

The Ministry further affirmed the UAE's commitment to continuing all efforts and initiatives aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the conflict, stressing the importance of dialogue, and de-escalation, as the only ways to resolve the conflict, and for mitigating its humanitarian repercussions.