The Defense Ministry confirms the exchange of 144 captured troops with Ukraine.
Russia has confirmed that 144 Ukrainian soldiers have been handed over to Kiev in exchange for the same number of Russian prisoners, saying the decision was approved by President Vladimir Putin.
The exchange took place on Wednesday and was organized and carried out on the orders of the Supreme Commander of the Russian Armed Forces, a spokesman for Russia's Defense Ministry, General Igor Konashenkov, said on Thursday.
The order was given by Putin because of the lives, health, release of our servicemen, the fighters of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, who make up the majority of those returned, is the most important task, Konashenkov said.
He said that all of those who took part in the POW exchange are wounded or seriously wounded and have already been provided with the necessary medical assistance.
More than 6000 Ukrainian service personnel have been captured by or surrendered to Russian forces since the conflict with Kiev broke out four months ago, a spokesman said.
The Ukrainian military intelligence service first announced the 144 for 144 prisoner exchange on Wednesday. There were photos of the swap taking place.
Those brought back to Ukraine include 43 fighters from the notorious Azov regiment, according to Kiev. Hundreds of members of the Neo-Nazi unit surrendered to Russia in May after being holed up at the Azovstal steel plant in the port city of Mariupol for weeks.
Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, citing Kiev's failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko admitted that Kiev's main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and create powerful armed forces. In February 2022, the Kremlin recognized the Donbass republics as independent states and demanded that Ukraine declare itself a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc. Kiev insists that the Russian offensive was unprovoked.