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October 17 (UPI) – Kyiv and Moscow held a prisoner swap involving more than 200 people on Monday, officials said, prompting Ukraine’s president Vladimir Zelensky Urge his troops to capture more Russians to secure the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The President made comments during this period his night address On Monday, the statement said, “The more Russian prisoners we have, the sooner we can release our heroes.”
“Every Ukrainian fighter, every front-line commander should remember this.”
His speech came hours after the warring countries exchanged a total of 218 prisoners of war. Officials said 108 Ukrainian women were released from Russian captivity, while Kyiv handed over 110 Kremlin troops to Moscow.
Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak a statement On Telegram, 37 women released to Kyiv were captured from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Ukrainian civilians and troops hid for weeks under Russian bombing. Twelve civilians were also released, he said.
Among those released were some who were arrested as early as 2019 by pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine.
“The captured mother and daughter are very much looking forward to by relatives,” he tweeted, adding that all released would now undergo medical examinations and rehabilitation.
“They’ll hug their relatives, their children — recover,” he said.
Russia-backed Kremlin leader Denis Pushlin annexes eastern Donetsk region Ukraineconfirming the prisoner exchange a statement Posted to his Telegram account, 110 Russians have returned to Moscow.
“Today, the exchange was carried out according to the formula of 110 for 110,” he said, noting that Moscow received 80 so-called civilian sailors and 30 military personnel.
The prisoner-of-war exchange is the latest between the two countries, after Ukraine and Russia exchanged dozens of prisoners last week.
Last month, the two countries exchanged Nearly 300 prisoners, including two Americans who fought alongside Ukraine.
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