Ukraine and Russia said on Thursday they had swapped a fresh group of prisoners of war, the third exchange this week as part of a deal agreed at peace talks in Turkey.
In Istanbul last week the two sides agreed to each free more than 1,000 prisoners of war 鈥� all wounded or under the age of 25 鈥� and return the bodies of killed fighters.
鈥楾oday, warriors of our Armed Forces, National Guard, and Border Guard Service are back home,鈥� Ukraine鈥檚 president Volodymyr Zelensky said on social media.
鈥楾hey all require medical treatment,鈥� as they were 鈥榮everely wounded and seriously ill,鈥� he added.
Russia鈥檚 defence ministry also confirmed the swap, saying in a Telegram post that 鈥榓 group of Russian servicemen was returned鈥� from Ukraine.
The swapped Russian soldiers were now in Belarus, Moscow鈥檚 close ally.
鈥榃e continue working to bring everyone home from Russian captivity. We thank everyone who helps make these exchanges possible 鈥� so that each and every one of them can be home, in Ukraine,鈥� Zelensky said.
He published pictures of the Ukrainian servicemen, all with freshly shaved heads 鈥� draped in national flags.
The oldest Ukrainian soldier freed on Thursday was 59, with the youngest 22, and they include some who were believed to be 鈥榤issing in action,鈥� Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said.
Russian state media showed Moscow鈥檚 troops in camouflage chanting 鈥楻ussia, Russia鈥� with national flags around their shoulders.
The exchanges are the only concrete outcome from two rounds of peace talks in Istanbul, at which Russia rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire and demanded Ukraine give up large swathes of territory and its bid to join NATO.
The first stages of the swap took place on Monday and Tuesday, with Russia on Wednesday handing back the bodies of 1,212 Ukrainian soldiers killed fighting Moscow鈥檚 invasion.
Meanwhile, Russian night-time strikes on Kharkiv wounded 14 people, including four children, Ukraine said, in the latest heavy bombardment of the northeastern city.
The strikes came a day after Russian attacks killed three people and wounded some 60 others in the city, some 30 kilometres from the Russian border.
Kharkiv has been heavily hit by Russian forces throughout their more than three-year invasion.
