Kyiv and Moscow agree to exchange 107 officers and soldiers who had been taken prisoner. Among them are many fighters who held the Azov Steelworks for a long time. Both sides report injuries to the soldiers and harsh conditions of captivity.
Ukraine and Russia have once again exchanged prisoners of war. This time, 107 officers and soldiers on each side were released, as announced by Kyiv and Moscow. The head of the Presidential Office in Kyiv, Andriy Yermak, told Telegram that 74 soldiers were among the Ukrainians who defended the Azov steelworks in the port city of Mariupol in the spring. Among those returning from the war were some seriously injured with infected wounds, mutilated limbs and burns.
The Moscow Ministry of Defense, in turn, announced that the Russian soldiers were in "mortal danger" in Ukrainian captivity. They were flown to Moscow for treatment in military hospitals. Ukraine also assured its soldiers that they would receive any help. In the Russian war of aggression, which has been going on for more than eight months, Moscow and Kyiv have already exchanged prisoners several times.
"Many of our people were wounded back in March," said Yermak, who also published a video and photos with some of the freedmen. "The state will do everything to help them." Among the injured is a fighter who survived the heavy explosion in the Olenivka prison camp near Donetsk in July.
According to Yermak, Ukrainian soldiers have been held captive in the Russian camp since May. There, more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners were killed in the explosion. Russia claims a Ukrainian missile hit the prison barracks. However, Ukraine believes that a bomb was deliberately detonated in the building.
