More than 100 Russian soldiers have been exchanged, the Defense Ministry says
Moscow and Kiev have conducted a second major prisoner swap in under a week, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
It added that all of the 107 released Russian soldiers will be airlifted for medical treatment and assessment in Moscow.
Acting Head of Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Denis Pushilin wrote on his Telegram channel that 65 of the returnees are from the DPR and neighboring Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR).
“We are handing over the same number of prisoners, mostly members of the Armed Service of Ukraine,” he added.
On Saturday, 50 soldiers were returned to Russia, according to the country’s Defense Ministry. Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, said that 52 servicemen were handed over by Moscow, including soldiers, national guardsmen, navy personnel, and border guards.
READ MORE: Moscow and Kiev reveal details of new prisoner swap
Last month, Russia released 108 female Ukrainian soldiers in exchange for 110 Russian nationals, many of whom were civilian sailors.
The DPR and LPR broke away from Ukraine shortly after the 2014 coup in Kiev. Both republics, together with two other former Ukrainian regions, joined Russia after holding referendums in September.
RT (Russia Today) is a state-owned news organization funded by the Russian government. The information provided by this news source is being included by the Libertarian Hub not as an endorsement of the Russian government, but rather because it is being actively censored by Big Tech, Western governments and the corporate press. During times of conflict it is imperative that we have access to both sides of the story so we can form our own opinions, even if both sides are spewing their own propaganda. The censorship of RT, despite likely being a propaganda outfit for the Russian government, reduces our ability to hear one side of the conflict. For that reason, the Libertarian Hub will temporarily republish the RSS feed from RT. Visit https://rt.com