The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday to have exchanged 205 Ukrainian prisoners of war for many other Russians, on the eve of a high three -day fire decreed unilaterally by Vladimir Putin.
“On May 6, 205 Russian military were returned from the territory controlled by the kyiv regime and 205 War prisoners of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were delivered in return,” said the Russian ministry in a statement.
Ukraine, a neighboring country against which Moscow launched a large -scale offensive just over three years ago, did not immediately comment on the Russian announcement.
This exchange of prisoners occurs three days before the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany and on the eve of a high fire unilaterally decreed by Putin.
The conflict in Ukraine has left tens of thousands of dead and injured on both sides.
The Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, described the truce as “manipulation attempt.”
According to an AFP count, it is the fifth exchange of war prisoners since the beginning of the year.
The question of war prisoners is subject to difficult negotiations and is one of the rare areas in which kyiv and Moscow occasionally achieve an agreement.
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