MOSCOW — Russia and Ukraine exchanged 115 prisoners each on Saturday in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates, the first such exchange since Ukraine launched a major offensive into Russia’s Kursk region earlier this month.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that the Russian soldiers involved in the exchange were captured during the Kursk Offensive on August 6, the largest incursion by a foreign power into Russian territory since World War II. All of the released Russian soldiers will be transferred to Belarus where they will undergo treatment and rehabilitation before being returned to Russia.
The ministry expressed gratitude to the UAE for brokering the exchange, highlighting the Gulf state’s growing role as a mediator in the conflict. This brings the total number of prisoners exchanged through the country’s mediation efforts to 1,788, according to the UAE Foreign Ministry. Saturday’s exchange was the seventh brokered by the UAE since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared photos on social media of the returned Ukrainian prisoners embracing each other, draped in the blue and yellow of the country’s flag. Zelenskyy noted that the prisoners included soldiers from the Border Guard, National Guard, Navy and Army. He also expressed his gratitude to the Ukrainian Armed Forces for their efforts in making the prisoner exchange possible.
Dmytro Rubinets, Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, said 82 of the Ukrainians who returned were members of the defense of Mariupol, a strategic port city that was besieged early in the war and became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance.
Abu Dhabi maintains close security ties with the United States but has continued to cultivate ties with Moscow during the conflict, a stance that has raised concerns among some Western officials. At the same time, the UAE has also strengthened ties with Kyiv. Emirati officials have emphasized their ability to engage with a wide range of international actors and positioned themselves as an effective intermediary that can foster cooperation and security.