Ukraine and Russia on Tuesday exchanged one of many largest prisoner exchanges since struggle broke out over three years in the past, as combating continued on a number of entrance strains.
A complete of 205 Ukrainian troopers who had been being held in Russian captivity had been exchanged for a similar variety of Russian prisoners of struggle in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.
“Our people are free. Our people are home,” he wrote.
Zelenskyy didn’t present particulars in regards to the Russian prisoners. Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry said that 205 people had been exchanged on both sides.
The swap was facilitated by the United Arab Emirates and occurred on the Belarusian-Ukrainian border.
According to the Kiev-based workers liable for prisoner-of-war issues, this was the sixty fourth trade for the reason that struggle started. So far, over 4,700 Ukrainians have been free of Russian captivity via such exchanges.
Among these freed had been three Ukrainian officers and 202 troopers and sergeants, based on studies.
The freed Ukrainian troopers, lots of whom defended key areas resembling Mariupol and the entrance strains, at the moment are again in Ukraine after months in captivity.
Meanwhile, one man was killed and one other injured in a Russian airstrike on civilian infrastructure within the southern area of Odessa, the regional prosecutor’s workplace stated on Tuesday, shortly earlier than the beginning of a 72-hour ceasefire ordered by the Kremlin.
Two individuals had been additionally injured in a large drone assault on the town of Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov stated.
Some 200 battles had been recorded in Ukraine over the past day, the Kiev General Staff wrote on Facebook early on Tuesday.
It stated notably heavy combating occurred within the space across the metropolis of Pokrovsk within the Donetsk area, the place defenders had repelled 78 assaults by the Russian military.
The data supplied by the combatants can’t be independently verified, however offers an thought in regards to the extent of the combating.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated 105 Ukrainian drones had been shot down over 11 Russian areas in the course of the evening – 19 of them over the Moscow area.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin stated particles from a drone fell onto a motorway, however thus far there have been no studies of significant harm or accidents.
Authorities reported that Ukrainian drones had been intercepted over the Voronezh and Penza areas. Initially, no harm or accidents had been reported from there both.
For security causes, air site visitors at Moscow’s 4 airports, Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky, was briefly suspended, based on the Russian news company TASS, which cited aviation authority Rosaviatsiya.
Additionally, air site visitors was additionally briefly suspended at airports in Kaluga, some 200 kilometers south-west of Moscow, Saratov, some 850 kilometers south-east of the capital, and Volgograd, some 1,000 kilometers south-east of Moscow.
The data can’t be independently verified.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a unilateral ceasefire to coincide with Russia’s anniversary commemorations of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany on May 9, that are to be attended by a number of overseas dignitaries.
The cease-fire is scheduled to run from midnight Wednesday-Thursday in Moscow to midnight Saturday-Sunday (2100 GMT Wednesday-2100 GMT Saturday).
Kyiv has rejected the restricted pause and demanded that the ceasefire be prolonged to 30 days. “The Russians are asking for a ceasefire on May 9 and are themselves firing at Ukraine every day. This is cynicism of the highest order,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram on Sunday.
Ukraine has been defending itself in opposition to a full-scale Russian invasion for greater than three years. As a part of its defensive marketing campaign, it has additionally been attacking targets in Russia, leading to deaths and accidents.
The casualties and harm are dwarfed by the devastating penalties of the battle on the Ukrainian facet.
Source: www.dailysabah.com