Amid the trading of heavy aerial attacks, Russia and Ukraine have completed an exchange of hundreds of prisoners of war under a deal sponsored by the United Arab Emirates.
Authorities in Kyiv said on January 3 that 230 Ukrainian nationals were returned from Russian captivity, while Russia's Defense Ministry said 248 Russians were freed by Ukraine. The ministry said the return of Russians "became possible thanks to the humanitarian mediation participation of the United Arab Emirates."
The U.A.E. Foreign Ministry acknowledged its role, saying in a statement that the swap was made possible by its "strong friendly relations" with both Moscow and Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on X, formerly Twitter, that he was "grateful to everyone who achieved this result" but did not mention the U.A.E. or any other countries involved in the negotiations.
A video he issued showed the prisoners being greeted by fellow soldiers and loved ones as they stepped off a bus. Some of them wrapped themselves in the Ukrainian flag.
"Initially, there was no information about some of them being held captive. They were considered missing in action. It is critical to keep hope alive," Zelenskiy said.
He said that, while prisoner swaps have been on hold for a long time, "negotiations have not ceased for a single moment."
News of the swap came as Poland called for the West to respond to Russia after it launched two massive waves of deadly air attacks on Ukraine. Kyiv, meanwhile, responded with its own strikes on Russian border regions and in Russia-occupied Crimea on January 3.
At least five people were killed and dozens wounded in Russian drone and missiles strikes in and around Kyiv as well as Kharkiv on January 2 that Ukraine’s military said were similar in scale to a massive Russian attack just days earlier.
Those attacks came after an attack on the Ukrainian capital on December 29 that killed 30. The Kyiv City Military Administration announced the new, higher death toll on January 3, adding that 29 were injured. Russia fired 158 drones and missiles across Ukraine in the attack. The attacks killed 10 others across the country and injured scores.
As crews continued to clear widespread damage to buildings and infrastructure on January 3, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said the West needs to respond to the attacks "in a language that [President Vladimir] Putin understands: tightening sanctions so that he cannot make new weapons with smuggled components and by giving Kyiv long-range missiles that will enable it to take out launch sites and command centers."
Putin has said in recent days his country would “intensify” its attacks on its neighbor, prompting Germany Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to accuse Moscow of seeking to "annihilate" Ukraine.
Germany will "stand by the people in Ukraine for as long as they need us," she wrote on January 2 in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
SEE ALSO: Ukraine Live Briefing: Verkhovna Rada Closes Over Strike FearsThe increase in deadly attacks, many of which hit residential areas, prompted French UN Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere to say he is pessimistic about the course of events in Ukraine.
“The situation in Ukraine remains extremely dire,” he told a news conference as France assumed the UN Security Council’s rotating presidency. “I think it's not improving, I think it's deteriorating.”
Zelenskiy has vowed that Russia “will answer for every life [that it has] taken away.”
Early on January 3, Ukrainian drones attacked Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, and two Russian regions neighboring Ukraine.
According to the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, the situation in the region remains “tense,” while the governor of the Kursk region just north of Belgorod said power cuts had been caused by Ukrainian aerial attacks.
No casualties from the January 3 attacks were reported by Russian authorities. Last weekend, Belgorod officials said 25 people were killed by Ukrainian attacks.
Ukraine has been calling on its Western allies to accelerate supplies of air-defense systems, long-range missiles, and combat drones given the scope and intensity of Russia’s latest air attacks.
Zelenskiy has said a major focus of Ukrainian counterattacks going forward would be to diminish Russian forces' strength in Crimea, even as his military is struggling to defend cities in the east.