Oct 23 (Reuters) – Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 270 people each in the latest prisoner-of-war swap, following talks with US negotiators earlier this week.
Nine civilians were among those Kyiv was bringing back, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on X. Most of the servicemen have been held since 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion, he added.
“We remember one and all and continue searching for everyone,” Zelenskiy said.
Among those returned were five Ukrainian prisoners whom officials had previously believed were killed in an explosion at a detention facility in Olenivka, in Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine accused Russia of committing a war crime with a strike on Olenivka that killed dozens of prisoners. Russia said Ukraine had fired at the camp.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Telegram that its freed servicemen were in Belarus and would be transported to Russia once they had received psychological and medical assistance.
Thousands of prisoners have been exchanged since the start of the full-scale war, one of the few areas where Moscow and Kyiv have maintained on-off contacts despite the conflict.
The last large-scale swap took place on August 19, when 103 Ukrainians were returned from Russian captivity, and another 10 people were brought back later that month.
(Reporting by Reuters,Editing by Ros Russell)
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