Ukrainian and Russian authorities separately disclosed an apparent exchange of prisoners on May 6, with Kyiv saying 45 of its personnel were being returned while Moscow said three of its pilots were brought back to Russia. Andriy Yermak, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, wrote on Telegram that 42 of the soldiers being returned were defenders of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol city, the scene of a long siege that ended in May 2022. The Russian Defense Ministry said the return of the pilots was “a result of a complex negotiation process." To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, click here. To read the original story by RFE/RL’s Russian Service, click here.
Three Russian Pilots, 45 Ukrainian Soldiers Returned In Apparent Prisoner Swap
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak said that most of the Ukrainian soldiers being returned had been defenders of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. (file photo)