Both Russia and Ukraine have announced that they carried out another prisoner exchange, with 103 servicemen returned by each side.
The Russian defence ministry said on Wednesday that servicemen released from Ukrainian captivity were transferred to Belarus, where they are receiving assistance.
Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova is working with the returned servicemen, it added.
“In exchange, 103 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were handed over,” the ministry said, thanking the UAE for providing mediation assistance in arranging the swap.
Few areas of practical cooperation
In a separate statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the exchange, noting that those released included servicemen from the Armed Forces, State Border Guard Service and National Guard.
“Today, 103 Ukrainian warriors are returning home from Russian captivity,” he said. "We remember every man and woman who still remains in captivity. We are doing everything possible to bring all our people home," he added.
Prisoner exchanges have remained one of the few areas of practical cooperation between Moscow and Kiev during the armed conflict that began in 2022.
The UAE has helped facilitate such exchanges previously as well, including a series of swaps in 2026.
Talks on ending the conflict remain effectively frozen, while the civilian death toll in 2026 has risen to the highest levels since the war's first months, according to the United Nations.
