Kiev says it has secured the release of 106 prisoners from Russia

KYIV (Reuters) – Ukraine’s president said on Thursday it had secured the release of 106 prisoners of war in a new deal with Russia.

Soldiers, including eight officers, were captured during fighting in Bakhmut, a town in the Donbass that Moscow forces say they have completely conquered, while Kiev still claims to control a small part of it. Makes counter-attacks on its outskirts.

“Each of them is a national hero,” said Andrey Yermak, Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff. “Many of the people we released were missing. Their loved ones had a hard time.”

Russia has not yet specified what it got in exchange for these prisoners.

According to Ukrainian military intelligence, these exchanges have allowed 2,430 Ukrainians to regain their freedom since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, including 139 civilians.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Writing by Tom Balmforth, French edition Tangi Salon, Edited by Nicolas Delme)