Russia and Ukraine each send back 146 prisoners of war

Russia and
Ukraine each sent back 146 prisoners of war on Sunday, Moscow's defence
ministry said, the latest in a series of exchanges that has seen hundreds of
POWs released this year.
Large-scale prisoner
exchanges were the only tangible result of three rounds of talks between
Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul between May and July.
They remain
one of the few areas of cooperation between the two countries since Russia's
offensive began in 2022.
"On August 24, 146
Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled" by Kyiv,
the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram.
"In exchange, 146
prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were transferred" to
Ukraine, it added.
Russia also said that
"eight citizens of the Russian Federation -- residents of the Kursk
region, illegally detained" by Kyiv were also returned as part of the
exchange.
Ukrainian forces launched a
surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk region in August last year, seizing
hundreds of square kilometres (miles) of territory in a major setback for the
Kremlin.
Russia deployed thousands of
troops from its ally North Korea as part of a counterattack, but did not fully
reclaim control of the region until April.
















