KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia and Ukraine have exchanged prisoners of conflict in the most recent such change that noticed the discharge of loads of captives and used to be brokered with the assistance of the United Arab Emirates, officers mentioned Monday.Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned 189 Ukrainian prisoners, together with army staff, border guards and nationwide guards — at the side of two civilians — had been freed. He thanked the UAE for serving to negotiate the change.Russia’s Protection Ministry mentioned that 150 Russian infantrymen had been free of captivity as a part of the change during which every aspect launched 150 folks.Depended on information and day by day delights, proper on your inboxSee for your self — The Yodel is the go-to supply for day by day information, leisure and feel-good tales.The cause of the discrepancy in numbers wasn’t straight away transparent.“We’re running to unfastened everybody from Russian captivity,” Zelenskyy mentioned in a remark. “We don’t omit somebody.” He posted photos of Ukrainian infantrymen sitting on a bus, some retaining the rustic’s blue-and-yellow flags.Zelenskyy mentioned that the ones free of Russian captivity integrated defenders of the Snake Island off the Black Sea port of Odesa, which used to be seized through Russia within the opening days of its invasion, in addition to troops who defended town of Mariupol, that used to be captured through Moscow’s forces early within the conflict after a just about three-month siege.“The go back of our folks from Russian captivity is all the time excellent information for every folks,” Zelenskyy mentioned. “And nowadays is a kind of days: our group controlled to go back 189 Ukrainians house.”In Moscow, the Protection Ministry mentioned that Russian servicemen had been first taken to the territory of Russia’s neighbor and best friend Belarus, the place they won “mental and scientific help” prior to transferring to Russia.Russia and Ukraine have performed dozens of such prisoner exchanges all the way through the just about three-year conflict.The prisoner change got here as President Joe Biden introduced Monday that the USA will ship just about $2.5 billion extra in guns to Ukraine as his management works briefly to spend all of the cash it has to be had to assist Kyiv combat off Russia prior to President-elect Donald Trump takes workplace.
