Kathmandu,

June 30,

Ukraine and Russia carried out their largest prisoner exchange since the start of the conflict on Feb. 24, the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Defense Ministry said Wednesday in a statement on Telegram.

“This is the largest exchange since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion,” said Ukrainian military intelligence in a Telegram message on Wednesday. 

Ukraine has recoverd 144 POWs from Russia in a prisoner swap. 95 of these fighters were from Azovstal steel and 43 were from the Azov Battalion. A noteworthy diplomatic success for Ukraine, as Azov regiment fighters potentially faced execution in Russian-occupied Ukraine.

A Pro-Russian separatist head confirmed the prisoner swap, saying that 144 Russian and separatist soldiers were returned to Russia.

“We handed over to Kyiv the same number of prisoners from the Ukrainian armed forces, most of whom were wounded. Our main task is to rescue the fighters who took part in a special military operation,” said Denis Pushilin, the head of the pro-Russian separatists Donbas People’s Republic.