UKRAINIAN PRISONERS OF WAR CELEBRATING AFTER SWAP WITH RUSSIA – Ukrainian and Russian officials confirmed the prisoner swap on Wednesday
Handout videos showed released Ukrainian prisoners of war chanting and wrapped with their country’s flags following a swap with Russia on Wednesday (March 19).
The location was undisclosed due to security reasons. The date was verified by Ukrainian and Russian officials’ statement that confirmed the prisoner swap on Wednesday.
Russia and Ukraine accused each other of violating a new agreement to refrain from attacks on energy targets hours after it was agreed by U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, but a prisoner swap touted as a confidence-building step went ahead.
In a phone call between Trump and Putin on Tuesday Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to pause attacks on energy infrastructure, a proposal Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accepted.
Even that narrow pause appeared in doubt on Wednesday, however, with Moscow saying Ukraine hit an oil depot in southern Russia while Kyiv said Russia had struck hospitals and homes, and knocked out power to some of its railways.
Still, the two sides announced they had carried out a swap of prisoners, each releasing 175 troops in a deal facilitated by the United Arab Emirates. Moscow said it also freed an additional 22 wounded Ukrainians as a gesture of goodwill.
