Moscow/Kyiv, September 15: Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 206 prisoners of war, said the Russian Defence Ministry. "A total of 103 Russian servicemen who were taken prisoner in Kursk region have been released. In exchange, 103 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been transferred," Russian Defence Ministry said on Saturday in a statement.

All the exchanged Russian soldiers are in Belarus where they are provided necessary assistance, Xinhua news agency reported. The UAE made humanitarian mediation efforts for the exchange, it said. The exchange was the second one in two days, Ukrainian authorities said on Saturday. A total of 103 Ukrainian military troops, including 21 officers, were released, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote in a post on Telegram. Russia-Ukraine War: 49 Ukrainian Prisoners of War Released From Russian Captivity, Says Volodymyr Zelensky.

"Our people are home. We have successfully brought back another 103 warriors from Russian captivity to Ukraine. Eighty-two privates and sergeants. 21 officers. Defenders of the Kyiv and Donetsk regions, Mariupol and Azovstal, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv regions. Warriors of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard of Ukraine, border guards, and police officers," Zelensky wrote on social media platform X. "I thank our exchange team for delivering such good news for Ukraine," he added.

Despite ongoing hostilities, Russia and Ukraine have managed to swap hundreds of prisoners throughout the two-and-half-year conflict, often in deals brokered by the UAE, Saudi Arabia or Turkey. The announcement came just three weeks after Russia and Ukraine swapped 115 prisoners of war each in an exchange deal also mediated by the UAE. India Can Resolve Russia-Ukraine Conflict: After Vladimir Putin, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni Says That India and China Can Play Role in Resolving Crisis in Region.

The UAE's Foreign Ministry hailed the deal as a "success" and thanked both sides for their cooperation on Saturday. The prisoner swap came as Russia on Saturday pushed ahead in eastern Ukraine, where it claims to have captured a string of villages in recent weeks. The Russian Defence Ministry said in a daily briefing it had "liberated" the village of Zhelanne Pershe, less than 30 km (19 miles) from the key Ukrainian-held logistics hub of Pokrovsk.

Pokrovsk lies on the intersection of a key road that supplies Ukrainian troops and towns across the eastern front and has long been a target for Moscow's army. More than half of the city's 60,000 residents have fled since the invasion began in February 2022, with evacuations ramping up in recent weeks as Moscow's army closes in.

Ukraine had hoped its major cross-border incursion into the Kursk region last month would slow down Russia's advances in the east. But Zelensky has conceded that while the Russian advance in eastern Ukraine had slowed down, the situation on the eastern front was "very difficult".

Ukraine made a new call on Saturday on the West to allow it to strike deeper into Russia after a meeting between US and British leaders on Friday produced no visible shift in their policy on the use of long-range weapons. "Russian terror begins at weapons depots, airfields, and military bases inside the Russian Federation," Ukrainian presidential adviser Andriy Yermak said on Saturday. "Permission to strike deep into Russia will speed up the solution."

The call came a day after US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met in Washington, D.C., but no decision on allowing Ukraine to fire long-range missiles into Russian territory was taken. Zelensky has been pressing the US and other allies to allow his forces to use Western weapons to target air bases and launch sites deep inside Russia. On Saturday morning, the Ukrainian President did not directly comment on the Biden-Starmer meeting. But he said Ukraine needed to boost its long-range capabilities. "We need to boost our air defence and long-range capabilities to protect our people," Zelensky wrote on social media. "We are working on this with all of Ukraine's partners."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 15, 2024 10:24 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).