Ukraine has said one reason for its incursion into the Kursk region of Russia is to capture soldiers it can then trade for the return of its own troops. That goal was realized for the first time on Saturday, when Ukraine and Russia held a prisoner exchange. Each country sent the other 115 troops, the BBC reports. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on X that the trade was negotiated by the United Arab Emirates, as were previous exchanges, per the AP. Russia and Ukraine have now held 55 exchanges since Russia's invasion in February 2022; this was the first since Ukrainian forces crossed into Kursk on Aug. 6.
Zelensky's post included photos of servicemen with shaved heads, looking gaunt and wrapped in Ukrainian flags. "We remember each and every one," the president wrote. "We are searching for and making every effort to bring everyone back." Ukraine said the 115 servicemen returned by Russia were conscripts, many seized early in the invasion. Almost 50 of them were captured by Russian forces at the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol. Russia said the 155 soldiers Ukraine turned over were taken in the Kursk region, per the AP. (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)
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