Moscow/Kiev, 30 December 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Russia and Ukraine have conducted another exchange of prisoners taken during the almost three-year war between the neighbouring countries.

This involved 150 prisoners each, the Ministry of Defence in Moscow said on Monday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram that 189 Ukrainians had been brought home.

Soldiers, non-commissioned officers and officers from the Ukrainian army and national guard as well as two civilians were freed, Zelensky said.

Many of them had been captured during the defence of the port city of Mariupol in 2022, he wrote.

According to Moscow, the released Russian soldiers are currently in Belarus and are to be brought to Russia. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) are providing humanitarian mediation, it said. Zelensky also expressed his gratitude to the UAE.

Belarus is a close ally of Russia, but served as a venue for negotiations in the first weeks of the war in 2022. Since then, most diplomatic channels between the warring sides have been closed.

The exchange of prisoners of war is one of the few areas in which Moscow and Kiev are still cooperating. This was reportedly the 59th exchange since the full-scale invasion began and one of the largest so far.

MIA file photo