Russia’s Defense Ministry reports that both Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 195 prisoners of war each. The exchange, confirmed by the Russian Defense Ministry, took place on Wednesday.
This announcement follows a recent incident where Russia accused Ukrainian forces of downing a military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war slated for exchange with Russian POWs. The Defense Ministry claimed that missiles fired from across the border caused the transport plane to crash in Russia’s Belgorod region on January 24. According to local authorities in Belgorod, bordering Ukraine, the crash resulted in the loss of all 74 individuals aboard, including six crew members and three Russian servicemen.
Last week, Ukrainian officials confirmed that a planned prisoner swap was scheduled for that day but stated that it had been canceled.
