Ukraine and Russia completed a two-day prisoner-of-war exchange, exchanging 500 soldiers each, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the eastern front on Friday.
Zelensky awarded positions near the cities of Druzhkivka and Kostiantynivka in eastern Donetsk region, where Russia has concentrated its forces. He said Moscow was preparing for a spring offensive there.
“This is important not only from the point of view of protecting our state on the battlefield, but also geopolitically,” Zelensky told soldiers of the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade in a video posted on his Telegram channel.
“We are strong in the eastern direction, we are strong in the negotiation process.”
Under pressure from the administration of US President Donald Trump, Ukraine and Russia have held several rounds of talks to try to find a diplomatic solution on how to end the war, now in its fifth year.
But the two sides remain far apart in their positions and territory in the eastern Donetsk region.
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Ukraine, Russia exchange 500 troops each
One of the few concrete results to emerge from the talks included agreements to exchange prisoners of war.
“This week, Ukraine and Russia conducted another prisoner exchange, with 1,000 individuals returned following agreements reached during recent trilateral talks with the United States in Geneva,” said US Special Envoy Steve Wittkoff at X.
Kyiv and Moscow exchanged 300 service personnel each on Friday and 200 prisoners of war each a day earlier. This is the second POW exchange so far this year.
Zelensky said two Ukrainian citizens were also repatriated on Friday.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the US and the United Arab Emirates acted as mediators in the exchange.
Zelensky posted a video of dozens of men getting out of large white buses, smiling, waving and thanking Ukrainian border guards who greeted them.
“I’m home, my dear mom. That’s it, I’m home. We’ll see each other soon. I love you, mom,” said a soldier, speaking on a mobile phone.
The previous POW swap was in early February, following peace talks in Abu Dhabi earlier that month.
Ukraine had hoped for a new round of peace talks in early March, but that was postponed after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran, in retaliation for Tehran firing missiles toward Israel and several Gulf locations that host US military facilities.
“Discussions are ongoing, with additional progress expected in the coming weeks,” Wittkoff said.
(With France 24 Reuters)
(tags to translate)Europe
