Russia and Ukraine have reached an agreement on the exchange of prisoners of war. A total of 206 prisoners were released today, 103 each in Moscow and Kiev. According to a statement by the Russian Defense Ministry reported by the Interfax news agency, Russian soldiers who were released in a raid by Ukrainian troops in August were taken prisoner in the Kursk region of Russia and managed to take control of about 1,300 square kilometers of Russian territory.
Mediation by the United Arab Emirates
Now, according to the information released by the Russian Defense Ministry, the released prisoners are in Russia’s ally Belarus. “Currently, all Russian servicemen are in the territory of the Republic of Belarus, where they are provided with the necessary psychological and medical assistance, as well as the opportunity to communicate with their relatives,” the ministry said. According to the information reported by the state news agency WAM, today’s exchange was mediated by the United Arab Emirates. WAM emphasized that this is the eighth time the Middle Eastern country has mediated a prisoner exchange between Moscow and Kiev. Even three weeks ago, Abu Dhabi played a significant role in the release of 230 people captured during the conflict.
This is not the first time Moscow and Kiev have reached an agreement to release prisoners of war. Despite ongoing hostilities, Russia and Ukraine have managed to exchange hundreds of prisoners during the two-and-a-half-year conflict, often through deals brokered by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia or Turkey.
Kiev will not use long-range missiles against Russian territory (for now)
The prisoner exchange comes at a time when the war in Ukraine has taken a different turn, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s demand that Western-supplied long-range missiles be used against Russian territory still in place.
US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer failed to make the announcement Kiev had hoped for after a meeting in Washington yesterday on the possibility of allowing the British Storm Shadow missiles to be sent and used for deeper strikes against Russia. Therefore, the two NATO leaders postponed the decision, probably out of fear of a strong response from Russia to the Atlantic Alliance, which Putin himself threatens. Finland and Sweden have nothing against Ukraine using medium- and long-range missiles to strike Russian territory for defensive purposes.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
