Russia and Ukraine have successfully exchanged captured soldiers in the first such swap since the downing of a Russian plane that Moscow claimed was carrying 65 prisoners of war (PoWs).
According to Russia's military, each side received 195 soldiers on Wednesday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that 207 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians were returned.
The exchange followed the crash of a Russian military transport plane last week, which Russia alleges was shot down by an American Patriot system.
The plane was said to be carrying Ukrainian PoWs for a planned exchange. Kyiv questions Moscow's claims, and an international investigation is called for, as both sides await proof. This marks the 50th PoW swap since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Photo by Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Wikimedia commons.