By Alexander Cornwell
DUBAI/MOSCOW/KYIV (Reuters) - Russia and Ukraine exchanged 115 prisoners of war from each side on Saturday after the United Arab Emirates acted as an intermediary.
It is the first such exchange since Ukraine launched a surprise attack into Russia's Kursk region on Aug. 6, the biggest attack inside Russian territory by a foreign power since World War Two.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Russian servicemen swapped were captured in the Kursk region.
All released Russian soldiers are now in Belarus and will receive medical treatment and rehabilitation upon their return to Russia.
The ministry expressed gratitude for the UAE's role in facilitating the prisoner swap.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy posted a picture with Ukrainian POWs wrapped in the country's blue and yellow flags and hugging each other. He said that the returned were servicemen from the border guards, the national guard, navy and the armed forces.
Zelenskiy expressed gratitude to the Ukrainian troops who helped replenish the pool of prisoners for exchange.
Kyiv has said it has carved out a buffer zone in an area that Russia, which sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, has used to pound targets in Ukraine.
According to Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's commissioner for human rights, 82 of the returned Ukrainians defended the port of Mariupol in 2022.
Confirming its role in facilitating the exchange, the UAE foreign ministry said that the total number of captives exchanged through its mediation efforts now stood at 1,788.
It is the seventh such exchange the UAE has mediated since Russia invaded Ukraine. An Emirati official earlier told Reuters that Russia and Ukraine were to swap prisoners following mediation by the Gulf state.
Abu Dhabi, a close security partner of the United States, has maintained warm relations with Moscow throughout the war, frustrating some Western officials. It has also strengthened ties with Kyiv.
UAE officials say their ability to talk to a range of international actors means that they can effectively mediate between parties and promote cooperation and security.