"193 Ukrainian soldiers are returning home as part of a prisoner exchange," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy writes on X and continues:
"Among them are people against whom Russia has initiated criminal proceedings, as well as wounded people."
Russia says its soldiers are undergoing medical checks in Belarus, a country allied with Russia and bordering Ukraine.
“The United Arab Emirates and the United States contributed to humanitarian mediation efforts to facilitate the return of Russian soldiers from captivity,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
The countries have exchanged thousands of prisoners of war during the more than four-year-long full-scale offensive war. On April 11, Ukraine and Russia exchanged 175 prisoners of war each.
