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Fourth deal this year: UAE mediation efforts facilitate another Russia-Ukraine prisoner exchange



The Russian Federation initiated a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The Ministry's statement highlighted that the success of this mediation is due to the UAE's unique relationships with both countries, facilitating the agreement.

Earlier, on Friday, the Russian defense ministry announced an exchange of 45 prisoners with Ukraine. A total of 75 Russian servicemen were exchanged for 75 Ukrainian troops, who have since been transferred to Kyiv through UAE mediation.

Since the start of 2024, the UAE's mediation has successfully concluded three similar prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine, as well as a US-Russia prisoner exchange in December 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared the news on X on May 31, stating, “Throughout all of this time, we have not stopped working for a single day to bring everyone home from Russian captivity. 75 more of our people have returned to Ukraine. The Armed Forces, National Guard, border guards, and four civilians. All of them are already on their native land … I am grateful to the team responsible for the exchanges.”

The UAE ministry, in its statement on Friday, thanked the governments of Russia and Ukraine for their cooperation and response to UAE mediation efforts. It emphasized the UAE’s commitment to ongoing efforts for a peaceful resolution, stressing the importance of diplomacy, dialogue, de-escalation, and mitigating the humanitarian impacts of the conflict.

Earlier on Friday, the UAE ambassador to Russia met with Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov in Moscow to discuss bilateral relations and strategies to enhance cooperation in commercial, economic, cultural, and humanitarian sectors.

In January 2024, Ukraine and Russia conducted one of the largest prisoner exchanges since the conflict began, with over 400 prisoners exchanged. A total of 248 prisoners returned to Russia, and 230 Ukrainian prisoners returned home. The Russian defense ministry credited the UAE's mediation for making the exchange possible. Zelenskyy separately announced that over 200 Ukrainian prisoners had been returned from Russia as part of the deal.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the deal as a “reflection of the strong friendly relations” between the UAE and both Russia and Ukraine and appreciated the cooperation of both governments.
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