Russia and Ukraine have mutually agreed on the release of hundreds of prisoners of war (PoWs) between March 5 and 6, Moscow confirmed on Thursday.
The exchange followed a humanitarian mediation undertaken by the United States and the United Arab Emirates. It is unclear how long the prisoners had been incarcerated.
The Russian Foreign Ministry disclosed that “a complex negotiation process” resulted in the freedom of 200 Russian POWs from Kyiv-controlled territories on March 5.
“All those released are receiving the necessary medical and psychological assistance,” a statement reads. “A 300 for 300 exchange is scheduled for March 6.”
President Vladimir Putin this week handed two Hungarian-Ukrainian prisoners of war to Hungary during Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó’s visit to Moscow.
“They were forcibly conscripted to the front,” Putin said. “We decided to allow them (Budapest) to take two people with them on the plane the minister arrived on.”
Both men fought in the Ukrainian army and had been held in Russian captivity. On Tuesday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán urged Putin to release the nationals during a phone call.
On Thursday, Russia hosted the 11th ambassadors’ roundtable attended by 105 heads of diplomatic missions and representatives of international organizations.
The meeting, which discussed issues related to global developments and the Ukrainian conflict, focused on the digital dimension of the crisis and its impact on international information security.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said “a large-scale malicious campaign” was being conducted by the Ukrainian authorities against Russia and its citizens, with the support of “their Western sponsors.”
Lavrov cited instances of Kyiv’s “criminal activities” in the information space, and outlined Russia’s response based on “a fair system of international information security” in line with the UN Charter principles.
