Hundreds of prisoners of war were exchanged between Ukraine and Russia yesterday, marking the single biggest such release since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, according to the Associated Press. Ukrainian officials said 230 Ukrainian hostages were back home yesterday while in Russia, 248 military men were freed under an agreement brokered by the United Arab Emirates.
“Our people are home,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on social media, according to BBC News. “Today, we brought back over 200 warriors and civilians from Russian captivity.”
The arrangement was made as a result of the “strong friendly relations between the UAE and both the Russian Federation and the Republic of Ukraine, which were supported by sustained calls at the highest levels,” the United Arab Emirates Foreign Ministry said. United Arab Emirates officials also emphasized they are dedicated to finding a peaceful way to help solve the war in Ukraine, according to Jurist.
Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, said it is the 49th prisoner exchange since the war began. Some of the Ukrainians had been in captivity for two years. Many of them were members of the military who were in well-known battles for Ukraine’s Snake Island and the city of Mariupol. Snake Island, in particular, has become a symbol of Ukraine’s resistance to Russia. A few hours after Russia launched its full-scale onslaught, a border guard posted there declined to surrender to the Russian warship Mosvka.
Meanwhile, fighting continued yesterday with the border city of Belgorod experiencing a couple of rounds of shelling. Belgorod has a population of about 340,000. It is the biggest Russian city near the border of the two countries. Regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, described the situation as remaining “tense.”
The Kremlin’s forces are believed to now be eyeing Ukraine’s defense industry, according to the United Kingdom Defense Ministry. As such, officials in Kyiv are appealing to allies in the West to aid them with more air defense support.
NATO officials announced yesterday that they plan to aid member nations in purchasing up to 1,000 surface-to-air Patriot guided missiles. That deal is slated to cost approximately $5.5 billion. It will possibly permit NATO members to send their own defense systems to Ukraine.
