Ukraine and Russia agree on a prisoner swap

A relative of Ukrainian servicemen said to be captured by Russian forces, holds a child as she stands next to their portraits during their rally at Independence Square in Kyiv, as they call to hasten their release from Russian captivity according to the formula "All for All". (AFP)

• Russia and Ukraine have conducted numerous prisoner swaps — most recently on Sunday — amounting to hundreds of captives each

ANKARA: Russia and Ukraine have agreed on an exchange of 40 prisoners of war each, Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said on Wednesday after meeting her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Lubinets in Turkiye.
Moskalkova and Lubinets were meeting on the sidelines of an international ombudsman conference in Ankara. Photos showed them sitting on opposite sides of a table.
“It is very important that the ombudsmen of Ukraine and Russia, in the absence of diplomatic relations (between the two countries), take concrete actions to help people,” Moskalkova told reporters.
Russia and Ukraine have conducted numerous prisoner swaps — most recently on Sunday — amounting to hundreds of captives each in the course of the war, which is now in its 11th month.
Earlier, Moskalkova said on the Telegram messaging app that she and Lubinets had also discussed the issue of servicemen missing on both sides, and civilian humanitarian issues.
She said she had asked Lubinets to help Ukrainian citizens who want to visit relatives in Russia.
Given the current difficulty of establishing humanitarian corridors inside Ukraine, she said the ombudsmen should help specific people to move between regions and countries, saying Turkiye could play an important role.
Separately, Russia’s state-owned RIA news agency quoted Moskalkova as saying “important words about the need for a cease-fire” in Ukraine had been spoken during her meeting with her Ukrainian and Turkish colleagues.
Moskalkova said a cease-fire was necessary to stop human rights violations, RIA reported. She also asked Turkiye, a NATO ally, to stop supplying arms to Ukraine.
As Moskalkova and Lubinets met in Ankara, a fierce battle was raging for the small town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine.
Both were later due to visit the Turkish presidential palace, where President Tayyip Erdogan was scheduled to make a speech for the conference.