Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Another 95 Ukrainian defenders have been brought back home, including service members of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, and the Border Guard, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on July 17.
"Our thanks to our exchange team and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for mediating their release," Zelensky said, according to his Telegram channel.
"No matter how difficult it may be, we are searching for everyone who may still be in captivity."
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that the release occurred as part of a prisoner exchange, as 95 Russian captives were also released. Ukraine's Prisoners of War (POW) Coordination Headquarters later confirmed the exchange.
The number of released POWs included 49 service members of the Armed Forces, including one who was voluntarily deployed by helicopter to Azovstal in Mariupol to join the defenders during the Russian siege in 2022.
Twenty-one members of the National Guard, 10 sailors, seven Territorial Defense members, and five border guards were also released, among others.
Bloomberg reported an upcoming UAE-mediated prisoner swap earlier today, adding that this would bring the total number of prisoners exchanged under the Gulf country's mediation to 1,400.
Arab countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia have repeatedly taken up the role of mediators in prisoner exchanges between Ukraine and Russia.
The previous exchange took place on June 25, when Ukraine brought back 90 prisoners from Russian captivity.
As of July 17, 3,405 Ukrainian captives have been brought safely home since the start of the full-scale invasion, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on Telegram.
Alessandra Hay
(Updated: )
