One of the objectives of the Ukrainian offensive on Russian territory is already being fulfilled. A few days after the invasion of the Russian province of Kursk began on August 6, the Kiev government announced that it would resume talks with Moscow to take advantage of the hundreds of Russian recruits that Ukrainian troops were capturing in the operation. Two weeks later, on Saturday, an exchange of 115 prisoners of war by each side took place. In the case of the Russians, all are soldiers who were captured in Kursk.
This is the 55th exchange of prisoners of war carried out by Ukraine and Russia since the start of the invasion in 2022, and the seventh exchange achieved this year thanks to the mediation of the United Arab Emirates. Ukrainian authorities indicate that in total more than 3,500 Ukrainian fighters have been able to return home. The Kremlin, for its part, does not provide the data on how many of its men have been released. In the case of this Saturday, the Ukrainian beneficiaries are, for the most part, soldiers who had been in Russian captivity for more than two years, 82 soldiers who were arrested in the battle of Mariupol, in 2022, according to the Ukrainian Ombudsman, Dmitro Lubinets. Others who have been released were captured during the siege of kyiv.
The videos of the Ukrainian prisoners made public are shocking because of the symptoms of starvation they have been subjected to, a picture that contrasts with that of the Russians, who are in better condition, although it must also be taken into account that they have only spent a few weeks in captivity. Russia, unlike Ukraine, has drastically restricted Red Cross inspections of its prisons for war fighters. The Russian Ministry of Defense has reported that its soldiers are in Belarus, which would indicate that the prisoner exchange has taken place on the border between Ukraine and this country, an ally of Russia.
kyiv hopes to see further exchanges in the coming weeks thanks to the hundreds of Russian soldiers captured in the Kursk raid. The Center for Strategic Studies, a Ukrainian military analysis institute, estimated last week that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had taken more than 2,000 prisoners. A medical team from the 82nd Ukrainian Assault Brigade told this newspaper on August 15 that there were at least 1,000 Russian prisoners from Kursk. The vast majority of Russian troops in the targeted province are conscripts with little military experience, unlike the Ukrainian units involved.
The news of the exchange has been received with particular emotion in Ukraine because this Saturday is Independence Day. Unlike the previous two years, the Ukrainian government has avoided installing Russian armored vehicles destroyed during the war in the center of Kiev this Saturday for citizens to visit. “We remember each of you, we are trying to do our best to bring everyone back,” wrote President Volodymyr Zelensky, referring to the soldiers still in captivity. Zelensky and his right-hand man, Andrii Yermak, have reiterated that it is essential that Ukrainian troops continue to operate with the mission of taking as many prisoners as possible.
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