00:30Mandatory credit: Russian Defence Ministry
Russian servicemen 'taken prisoner in the Kursk region' were seen being transported in a bus after 115 POWs were released as part of a prisoner exchange deal with Ukraine on Saturday.
Footage shows the freed soldiers talking with their relatives over the phone inside the vehicle.
"Our guys have met us, yes. They’ve given us food, everything. Everything is fine, we’re going home. Yeah, yeah, mum. I’m safe and sound, mum!" one of the servicemen was heard saying.
Russia’s Defence Ministry reported that "115 Russian servicemen who were taken prisoner in the Kursk region have been returned from the territory controlled by the Kiev regime", adding that "115 of AFU prisoners of war have been transferred in exchange".
The ministry noted that the exchange was mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the numbers, saying that "another 115 defenders returned home today; they are soldiers of the National Guard, the Armed Forces, the Navy and the State Border Service".
Ukrainian forces entered the Kursk region on August 6 in an offensive described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a 'large-scale provocation'. A counter-terrorist operation regime was introduced in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions on August 9, while more than 120,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk border districts.
President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as 'purely [a] security issue for Ukraine', with fighting ongoing.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
The location of the footage published by the Russian Defence Ministry cannot be independently verified.
'Safe and sound!' - Servicemen return to Russia after POW exchange deal with Ukraine
Russian servicemen 'taken prisoner in the Kursk region' were seen being transported in a bus after 115 POWs were released as part of a prisoner exchange deal with Ukraine on Saturday.
Footage shows the freed soldiers talking with their relatives over the phone inside the vehicle.
"Our guys have met us, yes. They’ve given us food, everything. Everything is fine, we’re going home. Yeah, yeah, mum. I’m safe and sound, mum!" one of the servicemen was heard saying.
Russia’s Defence Ministry reported that "115 Russian servicemen who were taken prisoner in the Kursk region have been returned from the territory controlled by the Kiev regime", adding that "115 of AFU prisoners of war have been transferred in exchange".
The ministry noted that the exchange was mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the numbers, saying that "another 115 defenders returned home today; they are soldiers of the National Guard, the Armed Forces, the Navy and the State Border Service".
Ukrainian forces entered the Kursk region on August 6 in an offensive described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a 'large-scale provocation'. A counter-terrorist operation regime was introduced in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions on August 9, while more than 120,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk border districts.
President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as 'purely [a] security issue for Ukraine', with fighting ongoing.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
The location of the footage published by the Russian Defence Ministry cannot be independently verified.
Mandatory credit: Russian Defence Ministry
Russian servicemen 'taken prisoner in the Kursk region' were seen being transported in a bus after 115 POWs were released as part of a prisoner exchange deal with Ukraine on Saturday.
Footage shows the freed soldiers talking with their relatives over the phone inside the vehicle.
"Our guys have met us, yes. They’ve given us food, everything. Everything is fine, we’re going home. Yeah, yeah, mum. I’m safe and sound, mum!" one of the servicemen was heard saying.
Russia’s Defence Ministry reported that "115 Russian servicemen who were taken prisoner in the Kursk region have been returned from the territory controlled by the Kiev regime", adding that "115 of AFU prisoners of war have been transferred in exchange".
The ministry noted that the exchange was mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the numbers, saying that "another 115 defenders returned home today; they are soldiers of the National Guard, the Armed Forces, the Navy and the State Border Service".
Ukrainian forces entered the Kursk region on August 6 in an offensive described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a 'large-scale provocation'. A counter-terrorist operation regime was introduced in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions on August 9, while more than 120,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk border districts.
President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as 'purely [a] security issue for Ukraine', with fighting ongoing.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
The location of the footage published by the Russian Defence Ministry cannot be independently verified.