ADDS STATEMENTS FROM UKRAINIAN OFFICIALS; EDITS THROUGHOUT
By Elena Teslova
MOSCOW (AA) - Russia and Ukraine exchanged 100 prisoners of war from each side Thursday through mediation by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
It said 100 Russian servicemen have been exchanged for 100 Ukrainian troops, who have already been transferred to Kyiv.
"The released (Russian) servicemen will be transported to Moscow by military transport aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces for treatment and rehabilitation," the ministry said.
"All those released are provided with the necessary medical and psychological assistance," it added.
The ministry praised the role of the United Arab Emirates, saying the authorities provided "humanitarian mediation assistance."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy separately confirmed the exchange and said 100 servicemen were returned by Russia are from the National Guard, the State Border Guard Service, and the Armed Forces.
"As of now, we have freed 3135 Ukrainians from Russian captivity. I am grateful to all of our team working on prisoner exchanges," Zelenskyy wrote on X as he expressed he is grateful to everyone, particularly the UAE, for facilitating the exchanges.
The exchange is the second between the two sides since the Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of downing a plane carrying 65 captured Ukrainian servicemen for a prisoner exchange on Jan. 24.
The crew and all passengers on the plane were killed, it said, calling it "a terrorist attack" mounted to accuse Russia of killing Ukrainian servicemen.
Ukraine's Defense Intelligence claimed that the incident could be a “planned and deliberate” action by Moscow to “destabilize” the situation, saying it currently does not have “reliable and comprehensive information” about who and how many people were onboard.
* Burc Eruygur contributed to this story from Istanbul