The two countries continue to trade attacks despite diplomatic efforts to secure an end to the fighting. It’s not clear how many prisoners were traded in this round of exchanges.
ADVERTISEMENT
Prisoners of war (POWs) were welcomed back in Ukraine as part of a swap deal with Russia and were greeted by waiting relatives.
The release, carried out under the Istanbul agreements, included wounded troops and soldiers with health issues, as well as several defenders under the age of 25.
Many of the freed servicemembers had spent more than three years in Russian captivity, with a significant number taken prisoners during the 2022 defence of Mariupol.
Hundreds of families of POWs and missing Ukrainian servicemen gathered near the hospital hoping to find their loved ones or information about them among others.
This exchange brought happiness to 53-year-old Svitlana Nosal whose husband Viktor was captured in Mariupol 38 months ago.
"It is a real happiness to hug a loved one," said Svitlana Nosal.
Among the crowd, 11-year-old Hordii Zavatskyi holds the portrait of his father Mykola who was missing 18 month ago in the Bakhmut direction.
His biggest dream is to see his father. The boy attends every protest and exchange with his mother Tetiana.
"I'm here because I want my dad back, so I can see him, hug him," said Hordii Zavatskyi.
Amid the hostilities, the two sides have continued swaps of prisoners of war agreed on during recent talks between their delegations in Istanbul. Russia’s defence ministry and Ukrainian authorities said another exchange took place on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Russia’s defence ministry confirmed Thursday that a group of prisoners of war had been released and arrived in Belarus before being transported back to Russia.
It said in a post on Telegram that the men were currently in Belarus and receiving all necessary medical support without specifying their number.
A video posted by the ministry showed cheering soldiers covered with Russian flags boarding a bus.