UAE Mediation: Russia and Ukraine Exchange Prisoners of War

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced today, Wednesday, that 248 Russian prisoners of war have been returned to Russia from Ukraine after "complex" negotiations involving mediation from the United Arab Emirates. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky separately announced the return of over 200 Ukrainian prisoners from Russia. This is not the first time the two sides have exchanged a number of prisoners during the ongoing war, which has lasted 22 months. Despite the absence of dialogue on how to end the ongoing conflict, Kyiv and Moscow have conducted prisoner exchanges since the early months of the Russian invasion in February 2022. However, the rate of exchanges declined in 2023, with the last one occurring in early August.