MOSCOW (AFP)

Russia and Ukraine each sent back 146 prisoners of war on Sunday, Moscow's defense ministry said, the latest in a series of exchanges that has seen hundreds of POWs released this year.

Large-scale prisoner exchanges are the result of three rounds of talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul between May and July. They remain one of the few areas of cooperation between the two countries since the war broke out in 2022.

“On August 24, 146 Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled” by Kyiv, the Russian defense ministry said on Telegram.

“In exchange, 146 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were transferred” to Ukraine, it added.


Russia also said that eight citizens of the Russian Federation who were residents of the Kursk region were also returned as part of the exchange.