Politics & Diplomacy
Russia and Ukraine exchange 540 prisoners with UAE mediation; Zelensky: “Most had been held since 2022”
Russia and Ukraine swapped 270 prisoners each after new mediation by the United Arab Emirates, bringing the total number exchanged through Emirati mediation to 8,537. Zelensky said most of the Ukrainians freed had been in captivity since 2022.
Russia and Ukraine exchanged 540 prisoners, 270 from each side, after new mediation by the United Arab Emirates. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the success of the effort on Friday, which brings to 8,537 the total number of prisoners exchanged between the two countries through Emirati mediation.
The ministry thanked both countries for their cooperation with the UAE as a trusted international mediator. It noted that this mediation, the 27th so far, reflects the UAE’s excellent relations with the Russian Federation and Ukraine. It also reaffirmed the Emirates’ commitment to supporting every effort towards a peaceful solution to the war in Ukraine and to limiting its humanitarian consequences.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published photographs of those freed and wrote that members of the National Guard, including Azov fighters, border guards, soldiers of the Territorial Defence Forces, the Navy, the Ground Forces and the Air Assault Forces, as well as of the State Special Transport Service, are returning home, together with nine civilians. “Most of them had been prisoners since 2022,” he said. “We remember every one of them and we keep searching for all of them. Thank you to everyone working to make these exchanges happen.”
Diplomacy stalled, war continues
The previous prisoner exchange between the two countries took place in August, when 206 people were freed, as The National reports. The new exchange comes while diplomatic contacts to end the war continue without result. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said recently that there had been no pause in intelligence sharing with Ukraine, while Russian drone attacks on Ukrainian cities continue and Kyiv responds with strikes on Russian refineries.
The United Arab Emirates has emerged as the main mediator for prisoner exchanges in the war, keeping channels open to both Moscow and Kyiv. The UAE foreign ministry stressed that the Emirates will continue to support initiatives to address the humanitarian consequences of the war, for refugees and for prisoners. On the arms front, Ukraine is preparing to receive its first 16 Swedish Gripen fighters in early 2027, aimed at the Russian aircraft that drop glide bombs on Ukrainian cities.
