Ukraine and Russia have exchanged over 300 prisoners of war, with emotional reunions taking place for many returning home after months or years of captivity.
Ukraine and Russia have carried out a new exchange of prisoners of war, with the two sides bringing home a combined total of more than 300 former captives. Ukraine brought home 189 former captives, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia's defence ministry said, while the Russian ministry said 150 Russian servicemen were returning home. The Russian ministry said the captives had been released in Belarus, it's close ally in the 34-month-old war with Ukraine, and would be transferred to Russia.
Television footage showed waiting spouses and some servicemen, many wrapped in blue and yellow national flags, weeping openly as they were reunited well after dark outside a building. A child's incredulous voice resounded over a mobile telephone: 'Dad, is that you?' 'My son is five years old now; the last time I saw him, he was two years old,' said Serhii, who was captured by Russian forces at the Azovstal steel mill in the southern port Mariupol, which withstood a siege for nearly three months in 2022. 'That's why my son probably didn't recognise me. I used to have a beard and hair. I lost 20kg.' For some former captives, the return to freedom involved adjustment. 'Even now I'm holding my hands behind my back, it has become a habit of mine,' said Roman Borshch, 29. 'Now I have to get used to being a free person again.' Video shared by the Russian defence ministry showed smiling servicemen on a bus, some calling their families. 'We'll soon be home. How are the children? How is our boy?' said one man. 'I am overwhelmed by emotion,' said another. 'I still can't quite believe that this has happened, that I am back home, that the ministry made such efforts, that we are remembered and valued.' Zelenskyy thanked United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities and other partners for facilitating the swap. The UAE acknowledged it helped arrange the exchange
PRISONER EXCHANGE UKRAINE RUSSIA WAR REUNION
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