Russia and Ukraine announced Wednesday that they had exchanged about 200 prisoners of war from each side, a week after the downing of a Russian military plane that Moscow said was carrying captive Ukrainian soldiers and was shot down by kyiv.
Vladimir Putin assured that the Ukrainian army had shot down the Il-76 aircraft with an American Patriot missile, used by kyiv to intercept Russian fire.
For their part, Ukraine and its Western allies are still trying to obtain proof of the Russian allegations.
On Wednesday, despite tensions linked to the crash of the Russian plane, Moscow and kyiv announced one of the largest exchanges of prisoners in two years of war.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that “195 Russian soldiers” had been exchanged for the same number of Ukrainian servicemen.
The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, welcomed the return of “207” of his fellow citizens. “Ours are at home,” he greeted, promising to bring home all the captives, “combatants or civilians.”
Vladimir Putin also welcomed the operation, assuring that Moscow wanted to “repatriate” all its prisoners into the hands of kyiv.
“We will not stop trade. We have our own men to bring back,” he assured.
This is the fiftieth exchange of this type, said the Ukrainian Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Loubinets. According to him, a total of 3,035 Ukrainians have already been able to return home.
74 passengers
Last week, a Russian military plane crashed near the Ukrainian border in murky circumstances, killing all on board.
Russia has since assured that the Ukrainian army shot down the aircraft which, according to it, was carrying 74 people, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war who were going to be exchanged.
On Wednesday, Vladimir Putin for the first time directly named the weapon used, according to him, by the Ukrainian army: “The plane was shot down, this has already been established with certainty, by an American Patriot system.”
These anti-aircraft defense systems, delivered by the United States, are usually used to intercept Russian missiles, particularly those called “hypersonic”.
Ukraine has not directly commented on its potential involvement, but has expressed doubts about the presence of its soldiers on board.
The country, however, confirmed that an exchange of prisoners was planned on the day of the crash, and ultimately did not take place.
Fewer shells for kyiv
The exchange of prisoners announced Wednesday comes as Moscow continues to put pressure on Ukrainian defenses, particularly in Donbass, around Avdiïvka, a hot spot in hostilities.
On Wednesday, Vladimir Putin claimed that his men were holding positions “on the outskirts” of this city.
For several months, Ukrainians and Russians have been clashing around this industrial city, at the cost of heavy losses according to observers.
kyiv claims to be resisting repeated assaults by Russian forces, but the Russians are now present to the south and north of the city, in addition to controlling its eastern flank.
In an attempt to free themselves from Russian pressure, Ukrainian forces are increasingly targeting targets in Russia, with the aim of pushing the Russian army to redirect its equipment and men further away from the front.
During the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, a drone launched by the Ukrainian military intelligence services (GUR) hit a refinery in Saint Petersburg, in the northwest of Russia, about 1,000 km from the border.
On the diplomatic front, while the last American envelope of support for Kiev is still blocked in Congress, the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, promised on Wednesday that he wanted to “do everything” to increase the European Union’s military aid to the Ukraine, on the eve of a crucial summit in Brussels on this subject.
Brussels announced on Wednesday that the European Union would only succeed in providing half of the million shells promised to Ukraine by the end of March, while kyiv fears that Western support will crumble.
European diplomats have also indicated that Brussels had “reached out” to the Hungarian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin’s closest ally among the Twenty-Seven, so that he lifts his veto on new European aid of 50 billion euros for Kiev.