Prisoners line up alongside a road during an exchange of
prisoners, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in the location given as
Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, in this handout photo released on June 29, 2022.
Courtesy of Ukraine's Military Intelligence/Handout via REUTERS
KYIV, June 29 (Reuters) - Ukraine on Wednesday carried out its biggest exchange of prisoners of war since Russia invaded, securing the release of 144 of its soldiers, including 95 who defended Mariupol's steelworkers, Ukraine's military intelligence agency said.
The majority of the Ukrainians were badly wounded, suffering from gunshot and shrapnel wounds, blast traumas, burns, fractured bones and amputated limbs, the agency known by the acronym GUR said in a statement on Telegram.
A man with a white flag walks on a road during an exchange
of prisoners, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in the location given as
Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, in this handout photo released on June 29, 2022.
Courtesy of Ukraine's Military Intelligence/Handout via REUTERS
There was no comment from Russia about a prisoner swap.
But the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine said it had secured the release of 144 soldiers, including its fighters and those of the Russian army.
"We handed over to Kyiv the same number of prisoners from Ukrainian armed units, most of whom were wounded."
Ukrainian soldiers stand next to ambulances as Ukraine
carries out an exchange of prisoners, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in the
location given as Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, in this handout photo released on June
29, 2022. Courtesy of Ukraine's Military Intelligence/Handout via REUTERS
Hundreds more Ukrainians are still thought to be held by Russia and its pro-Moscow separatist proxies in eastern Ukraine, but their precise whereabouts are not known.
In particular, Kyiv has worried over the fate of hundreds of fighters from the Azov regiment that played a prominent role in the defence of Mariupol and its Azovstal steelworks before being encircled and eventually laying down their arms.
The prisoner swap included the handover of 43 members of the Azov regiment, a National Guard unit that Russia says is a dangerous far-right battalion, a promising sign for Ukrainians hoping for the release of other fighters from the unit.
Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Tomasz Janowski
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-wins-release-144-soldiers-biggest-prisoner-swap-war-2022-06-29/
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