Ukraine war: Dozens of soldiers freed in prisoner swap with Russia – National | 24CA News
Dozens of Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of warfare have returned dwelling following a prisoner swap, officers on either side mentioned Saturday.
Top Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak mentioned in a Telegram put up that 116 Ukrainians have been freed.
He mentioned the launched POWs embody troops who held out in Mariupol throughout Moscow’s monthslong siege that decreased the southern port metropolis to ruins, in addition to guerrilla fighters from the Kherson area and snipers captured throughout the ongoing fierce battles for the japanese metropolis of Bakhmut.
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Russian protection officers, in the meantime, introduced that 63 Russian troops had returned from Ukraine following the swap, together with some “special category” prisoners whose launch was secured following mediation by the United Arab Emirates.
A press release issued Saturday by the Russian Defense Ministry didn’t present particulars about these “special category” captives.
At least three civilians have been killed in Ukraine over the previous 24 hours as Russian forces struck 9 areas within the nation’s south, north and east, in line with reviews on Ukrainian TV by regional governors on Saturday morning.
Two individuals have been killed and 14 others wounded in Ukraine’s japanese Donetsk area by Russian shelling and missile strikes, native Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko mentioned in a Telegram replace on Saturday morning.
The casualty toll included a person who was killed and 7 others who have been wounded Friday after Russian missiles slammed into Toretsk, a city within the Donetsk area. Kyrylenko mentioned that 34 homes, two kindergartens, an outpatient clinic, a library, a cultural centre and different buildings have been broken within the strike.
Seven youngsters acquired shrapnel wounds after an anti-personnel mine exploded late on Friday within the northeastern metropolis of Izium, native Gov. Oleh Syniehubov mentioned on Telegram. He mentioned they have been all hospitalized however their lives weren’t in peril.
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Elsewhere, regional Ukrainian officers reported in a single day shelling by Russia of border settlements within the northern Sumy area, in addition to the city of Marhanets, which neighbors the Zaporizhzhia nuclear energy plant. Kyiv has lengthy accused Moscow of utilizing the plant, which Russian forces seized early within the warfare, as a base for launching assaults on Ukrainian-held territory throughout the Dnieper river.
Elsewhere, Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa and surrounding areas have been plunged into the darkish following a large-scale community failure, the nation’s grid operator reported.
Ukrenergo mentioned in a Telegram replace that the failure concerned gear “repeatedly repaired” after Russia’s savage strikes on Ukraine’s vitality grid, and that residents ought to brace themselves for prolonged blackouts.
“Unfortunately, the scale of the accident is quite significant, and this time, the power supply restrictions will be longer. It is not yet possible to determine a specific time when (power) will be fully restored,” the corporate mentioned.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal mentioned that the vitality ministry was sending “all the powerful generators it has in stock” to Odesa “within 24 hours” and that each the Ukrainian vitality minister and the pinnacle of Ukrenergo have been on their technique to Odesa to supervise restore works.
© 2023 The Associated Press
