Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on September 14 confirmed that an exchange of prisoners of war had taken place between Ukraine and Russia involving 103 prisoners on each side.
Zelenskiy posted photos of the released prisoners on Telegram, saying the group included defenders of the Kyiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya, and Kharkiv regions along with soldiers who fought in Mariupol and other soldiers of the Ukrainian armed forces, the national guard, border guard, and police force.
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"Thank you to our exchange team for such good news for Ukraine," he said.
Of the 103 Ukrainians who returned home, 38 are members of the Ukrainian National Guard, eight belong to the country's border guard, four are police officers, and one is a rescuer, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.
"Most of them are defenders of Mariupol and Azovstal," Klymenko said, referring to the steel mill in Mariupol that was the scene of a siege in 2022.
Russia said earlier on September 14 that it had swapped 103 Ukrainian POWs in exchange for an equal number of captured Russian soldiers in the third such swap since Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region of Russia.
Nearly 50 Ukrainian POWs were released from Russian custody on September 13 in exchange for an unknown number of Russian soldiers.
On the battlefield, Russian forces continued their offensive in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
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Ukraine, Russia Show Soldiers Coming Home In Prisoner Swap
Donetsk regional Governor Vadym Filashkin said on September 14 that four civilians were killed and seven wounded after Russian forces carried out more than 20 separate strikes, prompting the evacuation of more than 900 people.
As Russian forces continue their advance on Pokrovsk, an important logistics and supply hub for Ukrainian troops on the front lines in eastern Ukraine, regional authorities have repeatedly said the area is not safe for civilians.
More than 130 clashes were reported by the Ukrainian military, most of them either in the direction of Pokrovsk or 50 kilometers southeast of that city near Kurakhove, which is home to a large power station.
In the southern Kherson region, a civilian died from injuries sustained in Russian shelling, Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. The 60-year-old man, who was seriously injured in an attack on September 14, died in the hospital despite doctors doing "everything possible to save his life," Prokudin said.
In the Odesa region, a married couple in their 60s was killed and a 65-year-old woman was injured in a Russian missile attack, said Oleh Kiper, the head of the regional military administration. Residential buildings and commercial buildings in the suburbs of Odesa also were damaged in the strike, he said.
On September 14, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had captured the village of Zhelanne Pershe, just 20 kilometers northeast of Kurakhov.
SEE ALSO: Ukraine Closer To Long-Range Strike Permission As Biden, Starmer MeetRussia also continued to target areas across Ukraine with drone strikes, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy saying on September 14 that more than 70 drones had been shot down.
Regional authorities in the Black Sea region of Odesa reported significant damage to several buildings near the regional capital as well as to grain storage facilities.
The heavy fighting comes as Russia continues its efforts to push Ukrainian forces out of its territory. Ukraine has taken control of more than 1,300 square kilometers of territory in Russia’s southwestern Kursk region following a surprise incursion in early August.
Observers suggest the incursion could distract Russian forces from their offensive in eastern Ukraine, while Zelenskiy has said it could give Kyiv more leverage in possible future peace talks and in collecting captured Russian troops for prisoner exchanges.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the Kursk and Belgorod regions were targeted by an attack on September 14. The ministry said 19 Ukrainian drones had been shot down over the two regions.
Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said at least five people had been injured in the attack on the Belgorod region. Gladkov said several grenades hit a section of road between Belgorod and Shebekino, injuring four people and damaging several vehicles.
A woman was reportedly injured in a separate incident in a nearby village when a drone struck a private house. The information could not be independently verified.