Baku, February 17, AZERTAC

Russia and Ukraine exchanged 202 prisoners of war Thursday, including a civilian, as part of the latest prisoner swap, according to Anadolu Agency.

The Russian Defense Ministry said 101 Russian soldiers who were captured returned from the territory under the control of the Kyiv administration as a result of tough negotiations.

The soldiers will be transferred to Moscow by a Russian Air Forces plane for rehabilitation and treatment, it said.

The head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, said on Telegram: “We continue bringing Ukrainians back from captivity. Today a hundred of our warriors and one civilian are returning home.”

Sixty-three of the released prisoners had been captured in Russia’s siege of Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, said Yermak.

One civilian was among the released prisoners of war.