On April 19, Russia and Ukraine carried out another prisoner exchange. The Russian Defense Ministry announced that the exchange took place according to the '246 for 246' scheme. According to TASS, as a 'gesture of goodwill', Russia handed over 31 wounded soldiers in exchange for 15 wounded Russian soldiers in urgent need of medical assistance. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the soldiers were taken through Belarus; on April 20, the plane they boarded landed in Moscow (a video of the return of the prisoners was published on the 'Zvezda' TV channel).
A total of 277 people have been returned to Ukraine from Russian captivity - this was announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on his Telegram channel. It was not clarified how many military personnel were handed over to Russia. Both sides emphasized that the exchange was facilitated by the United Arab Emirates.
As of April 20, only the Ukrainian side has published official photographs of the released prisoners. 'Meduza' published photos taken in Chernihiv, where Ukrainian soldiers were welcomed.
According to Zelensky, among those released, in addition to military personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, there are also members of the National Guard of Ukraine, employees of state special transport services, and border guards.
Those returned from captivity fought in Mariupol, as well as in other directions in the Donetsk region, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Kostiantyn Liberov / Libkos / Getty Images
Kostiantyn Liberov / Libkos / Getty Images
Kostiantyn Liberov / Libkos / Getty Images
Kostiantyn Liberov / Libkos / Getty Images
Kostiantyn Liberov / Libkos / Getty Images
