Russia and Ukraine exchanged prisoners according to the formula “100 for 100”

The Ministry of Defense of Russia announced on Thursday about a new exchange of prisoners with Ukraine – this time according to the “100 for 100” formula.

As noted in the Russian department, as a result of negotiations, 100 Russian servicemen were returned from Ukrainian captivity. When they were returned from captivity, the United Arab Emirates provided humanitarian assistance, the Ministry of Defense added.

There is no confirmation of the information by the Ukrainian side yet. Sometimes there are discrepancies in the parties’ statements about prisoner exchanges.

The previous exchange was announced on January 31. According to the Russian authorities, 195 servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were handed over to Ukraine, and 195 Russian servicemen were returned from Ukrainian captivity. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi reported then that 207 people returned to Ukraine as a result of the exchange.

The January exchange was the first after the Il-76 crashed in the Belgorod Region on January 24. According to the statement of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, there were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board the plane, who were transported to Belgorod for exchange. It is confirmed that everyone on board died. Russian officials said that the plane was shot down by Ukraine.

Representatives of the Ukrainian authorities, including Zelenskyi, neither confirmed nor denied the Russian version of what happened to the plane and the prisoners who were supposed to be exchanged. They confirmed that the exchange was indeed prepared, but did not take place. Kyiv accused Moscow of using the issue of the fate of prisoners to influence public opinion in Ukraine. The Ukrainian authorities called for an international investigation into the disaster.