Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war in the largest single release of prisoners since Russia’s massive February 2022 invasion.
Ukrainian authorities said that 230 Ukrainian prisoners of war returned home in the first exchange in nearly five months.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that 248 Russian soldiers had been released under a deal sponsored by the United Arab Emirates.
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs attributed the successful exchange to “strong friendly relations between the UAE and both the Russian Federation and the Republic of Ukraine, supported by continuous calls at the highest levels.”
The UAE has maintained close economic ties with Moscow despite Western sanctions and pressure on Russia after it launched its invasion in 2022.
Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, said it was the 49th exchange of prisoners during the war.
Some of the Ukrainians have been detained since 2022. Among them are some of those who fought in the important battles for the Ukrainian Serpent Island and the Ukrainian city of Mariupol.
Russian officials did not provide other details about the exchange.
Ukrainian prisoners of war draped in flags after their release by Russia on January 3, 2024. PRESIDENT’S PRESS SERVICE/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Also on Wednesday, Russia said it shot down 12 missiles fired at one of its southern regions bordering Ukraine, as Kyiv’s military sought to embarrass the Kremlin and puncture President Vladimir Putin’s argument that life is going on as usual despite the fighting.
The situation in the border city of Belgorod, which came under two rounds of fire on Wednesday morning, “remains tense,” regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said, writing on Telegram.
“The air defense system is working,” he said, promising more details on possible damage after inspecting the area later in the day, part of Russia’s New Year holiday week.
Russia freed 230 Ukrainians for 248 Russian soldiers in the largest prisoner-of-war exchange. PRESIDENT’S PRESS SERVICE/ATTENDANCE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Ukraine fired two Tochka-U missiles and seven rockets into the region late Tuesday, followed by six Tochka-U missiles and six Vilkha rockets on Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The Soviet-built Tochka-U missile system has a range of up to 75 miles and a warhead that can carry cluster munitions.
Ukraine has received some cluster munitions from the United States but the Tochka-U and Vilkha can use their own cluster munitions.
The Russian side of the border has been under more frequent attacks lately.
Ex-convicts hug each other after being released. Press Service/Circulation of the President of Ukraine via REUTERS
Throughout the war, border villages have been sporadically targeted by Ukrainian artillery fire, rockets, mortar shells and drones launched from dense forests where they are difficult to detect.
Lately, as Russia has launched missiles and drones at Ukrainian cities, Kyiv’s military has targeted the regional capital of Belgorod, which is about 60 miles north of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.
Belgorod, with a population of about 340,000, is Russia’s largest city near the border. It can be achieved with relatively simple and portable weapons such as multiple rocket launchers.
A Ukrainian man cries on the phone after his release. via REUTERS
On Saturday, gunfire over Belgorod killed 25 people, including five children, in one of the deadliest attacks on Russian soil since the full-scale invasion of Moscow. Another civilian was killed Tuesday in a fresh salvo.
Hitting Belgorod and disrupting city life was a dramatic way for Ukraine to show it could strike back against Russia, whose army outnumbered and outnumbered Kyiv’s.
The tactic appears to have worked, with signs of the attack unsettling the public, political leaders and military observers.
Firefighters at the scene of a Russian attack in Kyiv on January 2, 2024. AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky
On Monday, Putin slammed the Belgorod attack by Ukraine. “They want to intimidate us and create instability in our country,” he said, promising to step up retaliation.
Responding to a question from a soldier who asked him about civilian casualties in Belgorod, Putin said: “I also feel a burning anger.”
Many Russian military bloggers have expressed regret over Moscow’s withdrawal from the border area in September 2022 amid a swift counteroffensive by Kyiv, and they argue that more territory must be seized to secure Belgorod and other border areas.
Russia has described Ukrainians as “terrorists” who indiscriminately target residential areas while insisting Moscow only targets depots, weapons factories and other military facilities – despite mounting evidence that Russia has attacked Ukrainian civilian targets.
Russian firefighters work to put out a burning vehicle after a Ukrainian attack on Belgorod on Dec. 30, 2023. Russian Emergencies Ministry telegram channel via AP Rescue workers carrying injured people after a Ukrainian attack on Belgorod. The telegram channel of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia via AP
Ukrainian officials rarely admit responsibility for strikes on Russian territory.
In another Russian border region on Wednesday, the city of Zeleznogorsk was briefly cut off from power after a Ukrainian attack, local officials said.
Authorities had to temporarily shut down an electricity substation in the city of 100,000 people in the Kursk region to repair damage caused by airstrikes, Kursk Governor Roman Starovoit said on Telegram.
Residents had no power or heat, he said, although electricity was restored in most towns about two hours later, he said.
Russia has recently stepped up long-range attacks on Ukrainian cities, including using Kinzhal missiles that can fly at 10 times the speed of sound.
Kremlin forces appear to be targeting Ukraine’s defense industry, the UK Ministry of Defense said today.
The attack has prompted Kyiv officials to ask its Western allies to provide further air defense support.
NATO announced Wednesday that it will help member states buy up to 1,000 Patriot surface-to-air missiles in a deal that could cost about $5.5 billion. That could allow alliance members to send more of their own defense systems to Ukraine.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
