INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia and Ukraine exchanged 372 detainees of war, consisting of nearly 2 dozen severely wounded Ukrainian soldiers, authorities in Moscow
and Kyivsaid Wednesday.President Vladimir Putin had revealed Tuesday night that the exchange would take place, with each side launching 175
He likewise stated Russia would return an extra 23 injured Ukrainian soldiers as a goodwill gesture.Russias Defense Ministry said Wednesday
that it released 22 injured Ukrainian soldiers but did not describe why the figure was one soldier less than what the Kremlin guaranteed the
day before.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky laterconfirmedthe exchange and shared images of servicemen, some in crutches, wrapped in
He said the returnees were members of different military branches, territorial defense forces and border guards who had actually combated
across southern, eastern and northeastern Ukraine, in addition to in southwestern Russias Kursk region.Ukraines human rights ombudsman
Dmytro Lubinetssaidthe 197-for-175 exchange brought the variety of Ukrainian soldiers who returned home given that the full-blown invasion
Russias military credited the United Arab Emirates, which has actually brokered previous Russian-Ukrainian detainee swaps given that the war
started in 2022, for moderating the most recent exchange.It said Russian soldiers released in the swap were going through psychological and
medical examinations in surrounding Belarus before returning to Russia for treatment and rehabilitation.The prisoner exchange happened less
than 24 hours after Putin, in talks with Trump, agreed to a 30-day suspension of attacks on energy infrastructure.Zelensky stated he
supported the limited ceasefire but argued that Putins refusal to agree to a broader United States -proposed offer revealed the Russian
leader was not prepared for peace and still aimed to damage Ukraine.Earlier on Wednesday, Russias Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of
weakening the truce by introducing a drone strike on an oil depot in the southern Krasnodar region over night.
