MOSCOW: Russia and Ukraine traded hundreds of prisoners of war on Wednesday, just a week after Moscow said Kyiv had shot down a plane carrying captured Ukrainian soldiers to an exchange.
The crash of a Russian military cargo plane near the border with Ukraine — which Russia said killed 65 Ukrainian POWs — had thrown doubt on future prisoner swaps between the two sides.
President Vladimir Putin said it was “obvious” Ukraine shot it down, and on Wednesday claimed Kyiv’s forces used a US Patriot system to do so.
“This has already been established by forensics,” Putin said in a televised appearance.
Despite the tension, both sides made simultaneous announcements hailing the latest agreement on Wednesday to free more than 400 people captured during the course of the two-year war.
Russia’s defence ministry said 195 of its soldiers were freed, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said 207 people — both soldiers and civilians — had returned to Ukraine.
“Our people are back 207 of them. We return them home no matter what,” Zelensky said in a social media post.
In his daily evening address, Zelensky added that a total of over 3,000 Ukrainian POWs have now returned home.
“They have different ranks and experience. All are equally important for Ukraine,” Zelensky stressed.
The exchange was brokered by the United Arab Emirates — which has played a role in several previous swaps — Moscow said.
