Ukrainian soldiers at the Black Sea outpost made headlines at the start of the war by profanely defying threats from a Russian warship. Russia and Ukraine each exchanged 10 prisoners on Thursday.
Highlights
- Ukraine and Russia exchange 10 prisoners of war each on Thursday.
- The exchange also freed 19 Ukrainian civilian sailors captured as their ship tried to take Ukrainian troops off Snake Island.
- Ukraine released 11 Russian civilian sailors as part of the deal, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk says.
- It wasn’t immediately clear whether any Ukrainian soldiers from the island outpost were among the captives who were exchanged on Thursday — but Ukraine’s border guard agency says it was working to free soldiers who had been on Snake Island earlier in the day.
- Russia and Ukraine have engaged in at least two smaller prisoner exchanges in the month-old war, including the swap of nine Russian servicemen for Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov.