Over 100 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been liberated in a prisoner swap with Russia, according to Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak. The 116 freed prisoners included many who had defended the southern port city of Mariupol during Russia’s infamous siege, as well as guerrilla soldiers from the embattled Kherson region and snipers from the city of Bakhmut. In exchange, Russia received 63 POWs, including some in a “special category,” according to Russian officials, though they declined to provide detail on what that category entailed. Also returned to Ukraine were the bodies of Chris Parry and Andrew Bagshaw, two British volunteers who were killed by shelling while attempting a humanitarian rescue. The prisoner swap comes amid a series of Russian strikes across Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region that have killed multiple civilians.
Read it at AP News
