Kyiv and Moscow returned 95 prisoners from both sides. This was reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.
The exchange took place through the mediation of the United Arab Emirates, like the previous two. The Russian Ministry of Defense said that the prisoners transferred by Ukraine will be taken to Moscow for treatment and rehabilitation.
According to Zelensky, military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard, as well as border guards, returned to Ukraine. “No matter how difficult it may be, we are looking for everyone who may be in captivity. We must return everyone,” he wrote.
The previous exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine took place on May 31. Then the countries returned 75 people each. Before this, there had been no exchanges for four months—since February.
A few days before the May exchange, Russia's human rights ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova said the exchanges had been stopped for several months «because of Ukraine, which constantly puts forward new, far-fetched demands.» The office of the Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets then responded that exchanges were not taking place “because Russia does not want this.”