Ukraine, Russia free 200 war prisoners each in swap: officials

Ukraine and Russia have freed 200 prisoners of war each, the first part of an exchange that will see them swap 500 people each in total, officials said.

The two sides agreed to the exchange during talks in Geneva last month, both sides said on Thursday.

Prisoner of war swaps are one of the few areas of cooperation between the warring countries.

"Today, 200 Ukrainian families received the most-awaited message, their loved ones are coming home," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media.

Video shared by Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets showed the servicemen leaving buses, wrapped in Ukrainian flags and shouting "Glory to Ukraine!", as well as embracing those who came to welcome them.

Among those freed in the exchange were Ukrainian soldiers captured in 2022, including those who fought in the three-month-long siege of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, said Lubinets.

The Russian defence ministry published footage showing its soldiers boarding a bus and cheering while draped in Russian flags.

The United Arab Emirates and the United States helped mediate Thursday's exchange, Russia said.

More prisoners will be released on Friday, with the two sides set to exchange 500 each in total, Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said on Telegram.

Moscow and Kiev have held several rounds of prisoner exchanges throughout the war.

The swaps are among the very few tangible results of direct talks between the two sides, being pushed and mediated by Washington as it seeks to broker a deal to end the war.

Negotiations appear to have stalled, with the United States focusing its attention on the Middle East.

Kiev had said there was a tentative plan to hold talks in Abu Dhabi this week, one of the places being hit by Iranian missiles and drones.

Zelenskyy on Monday suggested holding the next meeting in Switzerland or Türkiye, which both have hosted previous rounds of the talks, instead.