Around the World Russia, Ukraine swap prisoners as battle for Bakhmut rages

Ukraine has released dozens of Russian soldiers as part of a negotiation brokered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Russia’s Defence Ministry has said, the same day 116 Ukrainian servicemen were also freed as fighting rages in the eastern city of Bakhmut.

“A complicated negotiations process resulted in 63 Russian servicemen returned from the Ukrainian territory”, the Ministry said on Saturday, as quoted by TASS news agency. It added that people of a “sensitive category” were also included in the deal, thanks to the mediation of the Gulf country.

The Ministry did not provide details on who falls within the “sensitive” group, but experts say that in past exchanges it referred to a wide range of people, including spies and civilians holding sensitive information.

All of the released soldiers are currently in Russia, the Ministry said, adding that they were being given medical aid and access to contact their families.

The UAE maintains close ties with Moscow and remains one of the countries not supporting Western sanctions against Russia.

Last October, President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ) and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Saint Petersburg where the Russian leader described relations between the two countries as “an important factor of stability”.

While the Russian Ministry did not refer to the event as a prisoner exchange

Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) posing for a picture after a swap in an unknown location in Ukraine in this handout picture released on February 4, 2023 [Press Service of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via Reuters] in its comments on Saturday, later the same day Ukraine’s presidency confirmed the release of 116 Ukrainians, in- cluding fighters caught in the battle of Mariupol and Kherson. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)