Ukraine and Russia Complete First Prisoner-of-War Exchange Since Plane Crash

PoW Exchange Between Russia and Ukraine

• According to media reports, on January 31, 2024, Russia and Ukraine conducted a prisoner exchange – the first since the crash of a Russian plane, which Moscow claimed had 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war (PoWs) on board.

• Russian officials assert that both sides received 195 soldiers during the exchange on Wednesday.

• In contrast, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that 207 Ukrainian soldiers were returned.

Ukraine's 50th PoW Exchange

• Ukraine’s governmental body in charge of PoWs reported that this was the 50th prisoner exchange since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

• Among the released prisoners were defenders of Mariupol, alongside soldiers stationed in various locations such as Azovstal, Snake Island (Zmiinyi), Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Kherson, and Sumy.

• Media reports suggest that both parties confirmed the involvement of the UAE as a mediator. However, specific details about the negotiations remain undisclosed.

Call for Investigation After Crash

• The crash of a Russian Ilyushin Il-76 plane in a field on January 24, just before a scheduled swap, has cast uncertainty on the prospects of future prisoner exchanges between the two parties.

• Vladimir Putin previously alleged that Ukraine had shot down the Il-76 military transport plane in the western Belgorod region using an American Patriot system. However, he did not offer any evidence to support this claim.

• The accuracy of the details remains unverified by independent sources, and Ukraine has called for an international investigation.