Moscow, Kyiv exchange 300 POWs each: Russian army

AFP :

Moscow and Kyiv exchanged 300 POWs each on Friday, Russia’s defence ministry said, the second round of a swap that has  seen 500 soldiers from both sides returning home.

The exchange was agreed during trilateral talks with the United States in Geneva last month, both sides said.

Prisoner swaps are one of the few areas of cooperation between the warring countries.

“Three hundred Russian servicemen have been returned. In exchange, 300 sprisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been handed over,” it said.

On Thursday, Russia and Ukraine each released 200 soldiers. The exchanges were mediated by the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

Prisoner exchanges have been one of the few tangible results of talks between the sides, being pushed and mediated by Washington as it seeks to broker a  deal to end the war.

Negotiations appear to have stalled, with the United States now focusing its attention on the Middle East.