Some of the freed Ukrainians had been held since war’s early days, while Russians were captured in Ukraine’s Kursk offensive
Russia and Ukraine have carried out a major prisoner exchange, with at least 150 people from each side returning home before New Year’s Eve, in a swap partly brokered by the United Arab Emirates.
“The return of our people from Russian captivity is always very good news for each of us. And today is one of such days: our team managed to bring 189 Ukrainians home,” the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said in a message posted on Telegram on Monday.
