Ukraine and Russia have exchanged 90 prisoners of war each in the biggest swap between the two warring sides in almost five months, officials said Tuesday.

Moscow and Kyiv have carried out over 50 prisoner exchanges since Russia invaded Ukraine more than two years ago, despite ongoing hostilities and both sides accusing each other of derailing talks.

The United Arab Emirates mediated the deal announced on Tuesday.

“Today, 90 more of our people have returned home from Russian captivity,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media.

“We remember all our people in Russian captivity. We continue to work for the release of each and every one of them,” he said.

Russia said that 90 of its servicemen “who were in mortal danger in captivity have been returned from territory controlled by the Kyiv regime.”

The freed servicemen will be airlifted to Moscow “for treatment and rehabilitation,” its defence ministry said, confirming it had released 90 Ukrainian soldiers in return

The last swap between the two warring sides was at the end of May, when they exchanged 75 prisoners each, also with the UAE’s mediation.

In February, both sides said they swapped 100 prisoners each, their first exchange since Moscow accused Kyiv of downing a plane carrying captured Ukrainian soldiers.

PUNCH Online reports that Prisoners of War (POWs) are individuals, typically soldiers, who are captured and held by an enemy during an armed conflict.

The Russia-Ukraine war, which began in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea by Russia and escalated significantly in February 2022 with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces, has resulted in significant military and civilian casualties, widespread destruction, and a humanitarian crisis.

AFP