KYIV: Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war on Wednesday, just a week after Moscow said Kyiv had shot down a plane carrying dozens of captured Ukrainian troops.
Russia’s defense ministry said 195 of its troops were freed, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said 207 people — both soldiers and civilians — had returned to home country, AFP reported.
Zelensky said in a social media post that our 207 people are back. We return them home no matter what.
Meanwhile, Russia’s defense ministry said that 195 Russian servicemen were returned home.
Uncertainty remains over the circumstances of last week’s crash, in which a Russian Il-76 military cargo plane was downed in a field close to its western border with Ukraine.
Russia’s Claim
Moscow said that sixty-five Ukrainian POWs being carried to a scheduled exchange were killed and that the plane was shot down by Kyiv’s troops.
Ukraine has not outright denied Russia’s version of events but questioned whether captured Ukrainian soldiers were actually on board and urged Moscow to publish photos of their bodies or provide other evidence to support its claims.
The incident had thrown doubt on the future of prisoner exchanges between the two countries.
Kyiv said Wednesday’s exchange was the 50th swap between the two countries since Russia invaded in February 2022.
