Latest news with #prisonerSwap
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,213
Here is how things stand on Saturday, June 21: Fighting Drones and missiles launched by Russia overnight have damaged energy infrastructure in central Ukraine's Kremenchuk district in Poltava, said local military authorities. One person was injured in the attack, according to Volodymyr Kohut, the region's military governor, who did not provide further details on the extent of the damage. Russia had targeted the district's refinery, according to a report by online news outlet Politics and diplomacy Ukraine and Russia exchange more prisoners of war, officials from both countries said, the second swap in two days under an agreement struck in Turkiye earlier this month. All the captured soldiers were wounded, ill or under 25 years old. Neither side said how many soldiers had been freed. At Russia's flagship economic forum in Saint Petersburg, President Vladimir Putin said he did not 'rule out' his forces taking control of Ukraine's northeastern city of Sumy as part of efforts to create a buffer zone along the border. The Sumy region is not one of the regions Moscow has formally annexed, although Russian forces have recently made inroads there for the first time in three years, with Putin claiming his troops had advanced up to 12km (7 miles) in the region. In a string of hawkish remarks, Putin also appeared to repeat his denial of Ukrainian statehood. Ukraine said Putin's comments showed 'disdain' for the peace process. The German military considers Russia to be an 'existential risk' to the country and Europe, according to a Spiegel news magazine report that cites a new Bundeswehr strategy paper. Russia is verifiably preparing for a conflict with NATO, particularly by strengthening forces in western Russia 'at the borders with NATO,' the report cites the strategy paper as saying. Germany can only counter this threat 'with a consistent development of military and society-wide capabilities,' the document concludes. Putin has reaffirmed Moscow's opposition to the spread of weapons of mass destruction, including any potential acquisition by Iran. Putin told Sky News Arabia that Russia supports Iran's right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, emphasising that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has found no evidence suggesting Tehran seeks to build nuclear weapons. Putin also stated that Russia is prepared to assist Iran in the development of its civilian nuclear programme. Economy At the economic forum in St Petersburg, Putin also urged officials not to let Russia fall into recession 'under any circumstances', as some in his own government warned of a hit to economic growth. Economists have warned for months of a slowdown in the Russian economy, with the country posting just 1.4 percent year-on-year growth in the first quarter of 2025, the weakest pace in two years. A decision by the OPEC+ group of leading global oil producers to speed up production now looks far-sighted and justified amid the Middle East conflict, said Igor Sechin, head of Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft, at the forum. Sechin also said that there will be no oil glut in the long term despite the production rise, and that the European Union seeks to reduce Russia's oil cap to $45 to improve the profitability of its purchases, not to cut Russia's budget revenues.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Ukraine POWs return home after a new exchange
Many were suffering from injuries and prolonged detention, according to Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (KSHPPV). The exchange was confirmed by Russia's defense ministry, which released a video of Russian servicemen at an exchange area in Belarus after being released in the prisoner swap.
Russia Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Russia and Ukraine conduct another prisoner swap – MOD (VIDEO)
Russia and Ukraine have carried out another prisoner-of-war swap under terms agreed at talks in Istanbul earlier this month, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has announced. In a statement on Saturday, the ministry said that a group of Russian service members held in Ukrainian custody was returned to Belarus, where they are receiving psychological and medical care before proceeding to Russia for treatment and rehabilitation. The Defense Ministry did not say how many Russian servicemen returned, but released footage of more than a dozen soldiers chanting 'Russia' while carrying a national tricolor flag. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has confirmed the exchange, also without providing specifics on the number of repatriated service members. He noted that many were members of the Ukrainian military, National Guard, and border service, most of whom ended up in captivity back in 2022 during fighting in Kiev and Chernigov Regions. Ukrainian officials also said that some of the POWs were either gravely ill or injured. The swap is part of a broader agreement reached at the Istanbul talks on June 2. The sides had agreed on an exchange involving, in total, approximately 1,200 prisoners each and the transfer of thousands of remains. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Moscow handed over to Kiev around 6,000 bodies and received the remains of 57 of its soldiers.
News.com.au
13-06-2025
- News.com.au
Ukrainians beg for news of missing soldiers as prisoners return
Amid the screaming sirens of ambulances bringing Ukrainian prisoners back from Russia on Thursday, Yana Nepotribna struggled to make her voice heard as she yelled out to her husband. Denys Nepotribna could not hear his tearful 26-year-old wife in the din. And he was among the soldiers surprised to see the woman climb onto a two metre (6.5 feet) high wall to get a better view. Nepotribna fell into the arms of her husband and the other former prisoners surrounded them as though forming a protective shield around their reunion. She was then carried in the crowd having nearly lost conscious in the emotion of the moment. "I held on to him like a vulture," she told AFP. "He says he said something, but I don't remember what it was." The couple had one of the rare happy endings from the latest return of Ukrainians from Russian captivity. At least one other woman emerged from the crowd in tears, unable to find the soldier she had been looking for in the crowd. - Desperate soldiers' wives - Russia and Ukraine agreed at talks in Istanbul last week to each free more than 1,000 prisoners of war and to send back the bodies of war dead. All of those freed were wounded or aged under 25. The first stages of the swap took place on Monday and Tuesday, with Russia on Wednesday also handing back the bodies of 1,212 Ukrainian soldiers killed since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022. The oldest Ukrainian soldier freed on Thursday was 59, the youngest 22. They included some who had been listed as "missing in action," Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said. The freed soldiers were besieged by distraught families looking for news of missing fighters. Under the window of the building where the soldiers were taken, people held up banners with the pictures of missing soldiers. Dozens of identity pictures are also stuck to the walls. Families begged the returning troops to look at the images and shouted their names and brigade numbers hoping for news. Wounded soldiers, some without legs and other limbs, were pushed in wheelchairs. One looked at the pictures as he moved through the crowd. "That one is alive," he said after seeing one photo. One soldier walked through with a Ukrainian flag around his shoulders. "Mum, I am in Ukraine and I will soon be home," he shouted, in Russian, into a mobile phone. Cries of joy and tears of sadness were passed through other phones as other soldiers made their presence known. Iryna Melnyk said she found out during an exchange on Tuesday that her son, missing for the past two years, was alive. "Two men told me that he was alive and in captivity," said the 44-year-old. "I recorded them by video to show that my son is alive and that he must be saved," she added. "I showed a photo of my son. I said: 'Look. 57th Brigade. Melnik.' And he looked at me and and recognised my son," she said. The prisoner exchanges are one of the rare areas where the war rivals have been able to agree after more than three years of conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. Ukrainian officials said more exchanges were expected in the coming days despite wrangling between the two sides. Russian state media showed Moscow's troops in camouflage chanting "Russia, Russia" with national flags around their shoulders as they returned on Thursday. According to a Ukrainian interior ministry estimate given in December, about 60,000 Ukrainian civilians and soldiers are considered missing in the chaos of the war. bur-pop/tw/jj
Free Malaysia Today
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Ukraine denies postponing prisoner swaps as Russian strike on Kharkiv kills 4
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the killing of a civillian 'another brutal murder'. (EPA Images pic) KYIV : Ukraine denied Russian allegations on Saturday that it had indefinitely postponed prisoner swaps, accusing Moscow of 'playing dirty games' after overnight Russian missile and bomb strikes on Kharkiv left three people dead and 22 injured. Later on Saturday, Russian aircraft carried out another bombing raid on Kharkiv, killing one civilian and injuring more than 40, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called 'another brutal murder'. Separately, Russian officials said a Ukrainian drone attack in the Moscow region wounded two people. At a second round of peace talks in Istanbul on Monday, the two sides agreed to swap more prisoners and return the bodies of 12,000 dead soldiers. However, Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said on Saturday Kyiv had unexpectedly postponed the exchanges indefinitely. This was denied by Andriy Kovalenko, an official with Ukraine's national security and defence council, who said Moscow should stop 'playing dirty games' and return to constructive work. 'Today's statements by the Russian side do not correspond to reality or to previous agreements on either the exchange of prisoners or the repatriation of bodies,' he said on the Telegram app. Overnight, Russian forces used high-precision long-range weapons and drones to attack military targets in Ukraine, hitting all of them, according to Russia's defence ministry. The northeastern city of Kharkiv, one of Ukraine's largest, is just a few dozen kilometres from the Russian border and has been under frequent Russian shelling during more than three years of war triggered by Russia's full-scale invasion. 'Kharkiv is currently experiencing the most powerful attack since the start of the full-scale war,' Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a post on Telegram earlier on Saturday. Residential buildings, educational and infrastructure facilities were attacked, he said, and photos showed buildings burnt and reduced partially to rubble, as rescuers carried the wounded away for treatment. Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said there could still be people buried under the rubble after one civilian industrial facility was hit by 40 drones and several bombs. In the Moscow region, two people were injured after a drone attack by Ukraine overnight and on Friday, Governor Andrei Vorobyov said on Telegram, with nine drones shot down. Russia's aviation watchdog said operations had resumed at the Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo and Zhukovsky airports in the Moscow region after being suspended temporarily for flight safety reasons. The defence ministry said that since midnight, air defence units had intercepted and destroyed 36 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory, including the Moscow region. Ukraine's air forces also shot down a Russian Su-35 fighter jet on Saturday morning, its military said without providing further details. Russian forces have not yet commented on the matter while Reuters could not independently verify the report. Zelenskiy said that Ukrainian forces recently destroyed three Iskander missile systems and damaged Russian military helicopters. 'There have also been new blows to Russian military logistics and airfields. This helps our defence – every complication for Russia is important for us,' Zelenskiy said in his evening statement. A Ukrainian drone attack deep inside Russian territory last weekend likely damaged around 10% of Russia's strategic bomber fleet and hit some of the aircraft as they were being prepared for strikes on Ukraine, a senior German military official said in a YouTube podcast set for broadcast later on Saturday.
