(Bloomberg) -- Russia said it swapped 103 prisoners captured by Ukraine during Kyiv’s incursion into the Kursk region following negotiations mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
Under the deal, the captive Russians have been transferred to Belarus and will be sent from there to Russia, the Ministry of Defense said on Telegram on Saturday. An equal number of Ukrainian POWs were transferred.
Ukraine’s contingent included members of the armed forces and national guard, as well as police officers and border guards, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on social media.
Ukraine and Russia have conducted dozens of prisoner swaps during the conflict now well into its third year, including exchanging 115 service members from each side in August, also with the help of UAE mediation.
On Friday, Zelenskiy said 49 men and women had been freed from Russian captivity, including an unspecified number of civilians.
--With assistance from Olesia Safronova.
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