Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war in the largest prisoner swap between the two countries since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion nearly two years ago, according to officials.

Kyiv said 230 Ukrainian prisoners of war were returned to Ukraine, while Moscow said more than 240 Russian military personnel were released in an exchange that was mediated in part by the United Arab Emirates.

A majority of the freed Ukrainians were members of the country’s armed forces. Members of Ukraine’s national guard, border guard service and national police were also released by Russia, as well as six civilians, according to the Ukrainian governmental body that coordinates the treatment of prisoners of war.
The swap included seven Ukrainian soldiers who were captured while defending Snake Island in the Black Sea.

“We remember each and every one of our people. And we must return all of them”, - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said while sharing photos of freed Ukrainians.