Ukraine and Russia make a surprise exchange of 300 prisoners of war

First modification: 09/22/2022 – 14:57Last modification: 09/22/2022 – 15:12

kyiv and Moscow carried out the largest prisoner exchange in almost seven months of war.

It is about the release of around 300 men after the mediation of Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

On the Ukrainian side, among those rescued are 215 military personnel and foreigners. Many of them soldiers and officers who had faced the death penalty, after being captured in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory, President Volodímir Zelenski detailed.

In that group are also dozens of soldiers and some civilians who fought at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, which became a symbol of the resistance of the attacked country, before the city fell into the hands of the invading troops, last April. .

According to Zelensky, the nearly 200 Ukrainians were exchanged for a single man claimed by Moscow: prominent pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk. Although he is Ukrainian, the former deputy who headed a pro-Kremlin political party was in custody and faced life in prison on charges of treason and complicity with a terrorist organization.

Putin, godfather of a daughter of Medvedchuk, had directly requested his release after describing him as a “victim of political persecution.”

“It is not a pity to give up Medvedchuk for true warriors (…) He has passed all the investigative steps required by law. Ukraine has received from him everything necessary to establish the truth within the framework of the criminal process,” Zelenski said about the freedom of the man who escaped from house arrest days before the Kremlin launched the conflict, on February 24, and which was recaptured in April.

The list of released foreigners includes at least 10 citizens of countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Sweden, Croatia and Morocco. London confirmed in the last few hours that five of its citizens are already back in their country of origin.

“We just want everyone to know that we are now out of the danger zone and on our way home to our families,” Aiden Aslin, one of the released Britons, said in a video broadcast by the BBC.

Meanwhile, on the Moscow side, in addition to Medvedchuk, 55 soldiers were released, as confirmed by the Kremlin on Thursday, September 22.

In its daily briefing, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that its fighters, including members of the Armed Forces and representatives in the Moscow-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, had been flown to Russia on a military plane and subjected to medical checks.

Mass flights from Russia, while the biggest anti-war protests spread

The Russian government would be facing a massive flight of citizens after President Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday, September 21, the “partial mobilization” of reservists.

Traffic at the country’s border crossings with Finland and Georgia soared in the past 24 hours after the announcement has sparked fears that men of age to join the front lines will be called up.

The prices of flights from Moscow to the nearest foreign places increased above 5,000 dollars, amid strong demand, and most air tickets were completely sold out for the next few days.

The situation occurs at a time when protests are spreading in several Russian cities, the largest since the Kremlin ordered the invasion against the neighboring country.

So far, at least 1,300 people have been arrested in the demonstrations that broke out just hours after Putin’s announcement calling up his reservists.

Against this background, the European Union stated that it should establish a joint position on the applications for entry of Russian citizens fleeing their country due to the conflict.

“Given this unprecedented situation, the Member States will analyze them on a case-by-case basis (…) We, as the European Union, in principle stand in solidarity with Russian citizens who have the courage and courage to show their opposition to what the regime is doing especially when it comes to this illegal war in Ukraine,” European Commission spokesman Peter Stano said.

Despite Putin’s call to revive the conflict in which his troops have suffered major setbacks due to the advance and recovery of territories from the local Army, the UK Ministry of Defense questions the effectiveness of deploying more recruits.

The ministry, whose intelligence agencies monitor ongoing hostilities, said Moscow has “exhausted the supply of willing volunteers” to fight in the neighboring country.

On Wednesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the reservists called up would be 300,000 men with relevant combat experience.

But ‘Novaya Gazeta’, an independent Russian newspaper that operates in exile, quoted an anonymous Putin government official as saying that the real plan is to summon a million people.

The source said that it is defined as such by a classified seventh paragraph of the decree, signed by the president.

With Reuters, AP and local media