Russia and Ukraine free 200 captured troops in New Year prisoner swap

Russia's Defence Ministry said 82 Russian soldiers have been released by Ukraine

Russia and Ukraine said on Saturday they had freed more than 200 captured soldiers, the latest prisoner exchange between the two sides in the 10-month-old conflict.

Russia's Defence Ministry said 82 Russian soldiers had been released by Ukraine, while the Ukrainian president's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said Russia had handed over 140 Ukrainian service personnel.

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Some of the 132 Ukrainian men and eight women who were freed had been wounded or had fought to defend the Black Sea port city of Mariupol and on Snake Island, Yermak said in a message on his Telegram page.

The two sides have exchanged hundreds of captured soldiers in several rounds of prisoner exchanges in recent months, despite a complete breakdown in broader diplomatic talks between Moscow and Kyiv.