RUSSIA and Ukraine exchanged over 100 prisoners of war each on Saturday as Kiev marked its Independence Day.

Ukraine said the 115 Ukrainian servicemen who were freed were conscripts, many of whom were taken prisoner in the first months of Russia’s invasion. 

Among them are nearly 50 soldiers captured by Russian forces from the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol.

The Russian Defence Ministry said that the 115 Russian soldiers had been captured in the Kursk region where Ukrainian forces launched their surprise offensive into Russia two weeks ago. 

The ministry said that the soldiers were currently in Belarus, but would be taken to Russia for medical treatment and rehabilitation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on the X social media platform that the United Arab Emirates had again brokered the exchange, the 55th since Russia launched its invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.

President Zelensky said: “We remember each and every one. We are searching and doing our best to get everyone back.”

Neither Ukraine nor Russia discloses how many POWs there are in total.

Last January, Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war in the biggest single release.