MOSCOW, Aug 19, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Russia and Ukraine each handed over 103 
captured soldiers on Wednesday, both countries said, in the latest exchange 
between the warring sides.

Prisoner exchanges and repatriations of soldiers' remains have been among the 
few areas of cooperation between Russia and Ukraine since Moscow launched its 
offensive in February 2022.

"Today, 103 Ukrainian warriors are returning home from Russian captivity," 
President Volodymyr Zelensky said, adding that those freed included defenders 
of Mariupol, the port city devastated during a months-long siege in 2022, as 
well as troops captured across seven frontline regions.

"We remember every man and woman who still remains in captivity. We are doing 
everything possible to bring all our people home," he added.

Earlier, the Russian defence ministry had announced the exchange, stating 
that "103 Russian servicemen were returned... in exchange, 103 Ukrainian 
prisoners of war were handed over."

Talks on ending the conflict remain effectively frozen, while the civilian 
death toll in 2026 has risen to the highest levels since the war's first 
months, according to the United Nations.

The freed Russian soldiers are in Belarus and will be flown to Russia for 
rehabilitation after receiving psychological and medical care, the Russian 
defence ministry said.

The United Arab Emirates mediated the exchange, it added.

The Gulf state has brokered dozens of prisoner swaps between Moscow and Kyiv 
since the start of the war.