DUBAI/MOSCOW/KYIV - Russia and Ukraine exchanged 115 prisoners of war from each side on Aug 24 after the United Arab Emirates acted as an intermediary.

It is the first such exchange since Ukraine launched a surprise attack into Russia's Kursk region on Aug 6, the biggest attack inside Russian territory by a foreign power since World War II.

According to the Russian Defence Ministry, the Russian servicemen swapped were captured in the Kursk region.

All released Russian soldiers are now in Belarus and will receive medical treatment and rehabilitation upon their return to Russia.

The ministry expressed gratitude for the UAE's role in facilitating the prisoner swap.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a picture with Ukrainian POWs wrapped in the country's blue and yellow flags and hugging each other.

He said that the returned were servicemen from the border guards, the national guard, navy and the armed forces.

https://www.facebook.com/zelenskyy.official

Mr Zelensky expressed gratitude to the Ukrainian troops who helped replenish the pool of prisoners for exchange.

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