kyiv and Moscow exchange 206 prisoners of war after new Russian air offensive against Ukraine

Russia and Ukraine They exchanged on Saturday 206 prisoners of warincluding Russian soldiers captured by the Ukrainian army during its border raid in the Kursk region. This is the second exchange between Moscow and kyiv in two days.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense in a statement, Each side exchanged 103 soldiers with the mediation of the United Arab Emirates.

“Russian soldiers are currently in Belarus, where they are receiving the necessary medical and psychological assistance,” the military statement said.

They will then be transferred to Russian territory to continue their rehabilitation in the Armed Forces’ medical institutions.

The last prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine took place on August 24, when both 230 prisoners of war were exchangedcaptured in the case of the Russians during the Ukrainian border raid in the Kursk region.

The Russian military launched this week a counteroffensive at Kurskwhere Ukrainian troops entered on August 6, allowing it to regain control over ten towns.

Both sides estimate that thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have died in fighting in the border region in just over a month.

Russian President, Vladimir Putin has ruled out any peace negotiations with kyiv until the expulsion of Ukrainian troops from the territory of their country.

Russia attacks Ukraine all night

Last night, Russia attacked Ukraine with more than 70 Iranian drones Shahedincluding the region of kyivwhere fragments of an unmanned aerial vehicle fell on the premises of a utility company, and in Odessa, where damage was reported to several buildings.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched a total of 76 drones over Ukraine, of which 72 were shot down in the regions of Odessa, Mykolaiv, Kherson, Poltava, Kharkiv, kyiv, Donetsk, Zhytomyr, Dnipro, Cherkasy, Vinitsa, and Sumy.

In addition, two enemy drones were lost in Ukraine and two others returned to Russia, kyiv said.

Ukrainian President, Volodymyr ZelenskyHe thanked the soldiers of the Army Air Force, the mobile artillery groups and the anti-aircraft defence, who, he said, “defended the Ukrainians throughout the night.”

“We need more capabilities to strengthen our air defense, air defense and long-range capabilities to continue protecting lives and our people. We are working on this with all of Ukraine’s partners,” he said on his Telegram account.